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[I don't even know if I like playing as them but I can't stop playing as them.]

251

TalkBack / 10 Questions and Observations About the Duck Hunt Duo in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U

« on: October 08, 2014, 01:00:00 PM »

I don't even know if I like playing as them but I can't stop playing as them.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/editorial/38685/10-questions-and-observations-about-the-duck-hunt-duo-in-super-smash-bros-for-nintendo-3ds-and-wii-u

Every time I play as the extremely fascinating Duck Hunt duo, I learn another quirk about the character, have one new question, or gain a new observation. In lieu of proper prose with a main point, I figured it would make more sense to cut to the chase and point out some of the numerous things I’ve wondered or noticed about these two.

1. How hard was it to create a character based on a semi-realistic dog? I mean, he literally runs, sits, paws, and pants like a realistic dog. It’s as jarring as it is adorable.

2. When the dog picks up a Home Run Bat, why does he stand up on two legs and swing it like a human, but when he grabs a Pokéball, he uses his mouth?

3. The dog’s new design is so wildly different from his old Duck Hunt design that he looks like a new Nintendo character. In a weird way, it almost feels like Smash 4 is introducing a new member of the Nintendo family. I mean, before this, he was nothing but a background character and a joke for people to make fun of. “Haha, that dog was always such a jerk. I wish we could shoot him instead.”

4. If you zoom in, the can he kicks in his B move is labeled “Hogan’s Alley.”

5. Where did they get those Wild Gunman sound effects? Did Nintendo rip them from a cartridge or remake them for the purposes of Smash?

6. The duo’s new artwork is brilliant and heartwarming. I love how the duck and the dog are looking at each other like, “Hell yeah man! We got this.”

7. I think it is super smart to make the duck, dog, and gunman collaborative Smash partners. You really couldn’t get away with a dog holding up a duck carcass in 3D.

8. What is the gunman’s job off-screen as he fires during the duo’s Smash attacks? Is the dog directing the gunshots, or is the gunman actually aiming for the duck and dog but missing every time thanks to the dog’s careful misdirection?

9. Their up-B move with the duck carrying the dog by his behind is one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen.

10. What are the chances of a new eShop Duck Hunt game that adds context to the revitalized character? The GamePad could be used as a cool Wii U shooting mechanism for a 360 degree field of view, or it could be used with the television screen as a Game & Wario-style zoom.

I wonder where Smash goes from here with cool NES guest characters. Who would you want to see? Excitebike? Urban Champion? Are you as fascinated by this character as I am? Sound off in the comments!

[Yu-Gi-No!]

252

TalkBack / Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal: World Duel Carnival Review

« on: October 04, 2014, 02:19:00 AM »

Yu-Gi-No!

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/38654/yu-gi-oh-zexal-world-duel-carnival-review

I really like Yu-Gi-Oh! I know – even in a community filled with Pokémon and Animal Crossing fanboys alike, saying you like Yu-Gi-Oh can still summon a furrowed brow or two. “Wasn’t it just some fad? Isn’t it dead?” some would ask. Originally, I would point to the tremendous World Championship and Tag Force games as proof that the card and video game series still has something to say, but after playing Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal: World Duel Carnival, the first Yu-Gi-Oh game on 3DS, I just don’t know anymore.

For the uninitiated, Yu-Gi-Oh is a trading card game that used to be tremendously popular a decade or so ago, but has since faded a bit. You have probably seen this kind of game before: Monsters with number values (attack/defense) fight other monsters with number values, and the stronger one wins. There are support spells and traps, and there are effects and special card types that keep the game interesting. If you want more detail, there is a great tutorial here.

From that perspective, the card game itself is well represented. 5,500 digital cards are included, with everything from traditional monsters to the newer Xyz and Synchro sets. The game has gotten more complicated, diverse, and interesting in the years since its mainstream appeal faded, and those changes are reflected in this game (in other words, there are more numbers and more unique numbers to deal with now). The AI is fair, with dozens of characters in different styles to duke it out against as a slightly shallow avatar in Free Duel mode.

The presentation is okay. There are some 3D character portraits and easy-to-read card effects to see during battle, and the interface for dueling is acceptable but there are no card animations and the music is forgettable. It’s just raw dueling with pictures of cards. Nothing more, nothing less. You may well play the real game.

Even worse, the way content is incorporated within World Duel Carnival is pitiful. Free Duel has all the cards and cosmetic stuff unlocked for your avatar immediately. The story mode – a series of duels against different characters while a poorly told version of a Zexal tournament storyline plays in-between – is a contrast from the robust RPG-like mode in World Championship 2010 on DS, and there is no multiplayer to speak of. Did you get that? There is NO multiplayer, local or online, to play in a competitive trading card game.

And let’s not forget about the content cut from the Japanese release. While there are lots of smaller cuts, most egregious is that instead of 40 characters to play as in the story mode, there are now just 12. The localization writing is passable and it launched at a lower price in the U.S. than the original, full version did in other territories, but everything about the Western version feels anemic compared to what Japan got.

So while the basic dueling is fun, there’s little else to enjoy in this eShop title. Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal: World Duel Carnival is emaciated and borderline offensive to loyal fans who just want the full 3DS trading card experience. I wonder if Magic the Gathering is easy to get into…

[Get your poké on.]

253

TalkBack / The Pokémon Trading Card Game Online Now Available on iPad

« on: October 01, 2014, 02:20:20 AM »

Get your poké on.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/38638/the-pokemon-trading-card-game-online-now-available-on-ipad

The Pokémon Trading Card Game Online on iPad is now available on the iTunes App Store in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, France, and the United Kingdom.

The free-to-play title is feature identical to the version already available for download on PC and Mac; with all of the battling, deck building, and trading to boot. Though you do get a smattering of free cards to begin with, you can earn more by playing against opponents (both human and computer) as well as using codes gained from purchasing physical Pokémon TCG products.

There’s no word regarding whether the app will eventually hit other platforms.

254

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 146: Mario Party 9 Forever

« on: August 18, 2014, 08:05:45 AM »

I don't see why one has to apologize for noting that their moms or girlfriends are better at Tetris than them. You need to celebrate diversity not shun it. "Vive' la difference" and all.

Oh man, and words truly can't describe how terrible durian smells. Tastes not much better in my experience (like a white, raw ground meat), so i am at loss why it's sought out so much.

People who can't deal with controls in Kid Icarus Uprising need to "git gud". If you can't deal with it, it's because you're bad, it's that simple.

I need to resume my 9.0 playthrough of Kid Icarus... I think i stopped at 8... I almost completed wall of achievements. Still have two other walls of achievements ahead.

Such a great game. The crowd who kept demanding for a new Nintendo game with a great story, full voice-acting, great third person shooting gameplay AND online multiplayer (basically all modern AAA checkboxes checked out PLUS all) lost all moral right to complain the day this game came out.

Noting that "everyone can enjoy or play anything but this is what I noticed" is just a bit of (truthful) armor in case someone wants to suggest I said something negative about who can and cannot be a video games fan or that I was unfairly representing or stereotyping a gender. This **** can be a minefield sometimes, so I went out of my way to declare my statement a personal observation.

255

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 146: Mario Party 9 Forever

« on: August 17, 2014, 09:26:06 PM »

FFVI came before Chrono Trigger, and Star Wars takes a lot from Japan and biblical themes.

FFVI has an awesome story, and Kefka is one of the cruelest villains ever, or at least for that period.

Sometimes I wonder what planet does Alex comes from...never played FFVI?, never seen Star Wars original trilogy?...was he born on the Himalayas? :p

I just wish it could be available on the WiiU VC.

I come from the far off land of 1994.

[Alex and Justin face off once again to judge the merits of this year's new rewards.]

256

TalkBack / Club Nintendo Elite Status 2014 Gifts: A Mixed Reaction

« on: July 16, 2014, 06:38:01 AM »

Alex and Justin face off once again to judge the merits of this year's new rewards.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/38083/club-nintendo-elite-status-2014-gifts-a-mixed-reaction

Another year means another series of Club Nintendo Platinum and Gold rewards. Previous years offered a mixture of physical and digital options, but in 2014, Club Nintendo awarded its users exclusively with digital game options. A big change always results in a big reaction, with opinions ranging from this being the very best offering in the promotion's history to the very worst.

Previews Editor Alex Culafi and Features Editor Justin Berube have two of these big reactions, and ended up writing two opposing opinion pieces on the matter (without knowledge that the other was working on theirs).

Who do you agree with? Are you excited about Club Nintendo's digital future or repulsed by it? Sound off in the comments below.

[Total manure.]

257

TalkBack / Gardening Mama 2: Forest Friends Review

« on: July 08, 2014, 05:16:13 AM »

Total manure.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/38033/gardening-mama-2-forest-friends-review

Gardening Mama 2: Forest Friends is a DS game from 2006. I don’t mean that in a literal way – the game originally came out earlier this year on 3DS – but you couldn’t tell by looking at it. Counting spin-offs and console games, this year marks twelve Mama games in the last eight years.  While Gardening Mama 2 does a great job of showing how far we’ve come since the early days of the handheld Nintendo touch screen, it also shows how little this series has learned.

The game is primarily a collection of 50 mini-games, and while they look different, they all use basic tapping, swiping and dragging mechanics in the same boring, gimmicky ways early DS games were doing. In “Collect chestnuts!” you swipe tongs at the right time to collect chestnuts. In “Get sunflower seeds!” you individually pick off 270 sunflower seeds by simply swiping the screen 270 times.  Zero of the games are fun, all of them are too repetitive, all of them go on for too long, there’s no pause button short of the Home screen, and Mama’s awful Dora the Explorer knock-off friends continue to have grating voice acting. Everything is well polished and colorful on a technical level, but I would be shocked if anyone smiled once while playing these slog-fests.

Playing the games unlock seeds to farm with. The farming all takes place through the touch screen in a mundane affair of planting, watering, and waiting, and while there are some variables like annoying plant infestation mini-games and some trees you can chop down for wood, everything is too repetitive, too boring, and too simple.

After harvesting your plants, you talk to an animal standing in front of your house who wants, say, five apples. You plant and harvest your apples, go into the town area, and sell your goods to the animal business proprietor who requested those apples. Upon finishing this “delivery” (which is ultimately a fetch quest), the businesses gain experience points to evolve and grow bigger, and you get paid in Shopping Tickets for your work.  This sounds well and good, but after all of those repetitive mini-games, all of that boring farming, and all of that responding to fetch quests, the only thing your Shopping Tickets can be used for are more seeds and non-interactive decorations for your farm.  

That’s the game. Each day provides a new fetch quest and a new mini-game, and there’s some other weird minor stuff like a photo booth mode where you can overlay some effects over your pictures, but that’s Gardening Mama 2. One could argue that the game is made for children who like repetition more than an adult might, but there are vastly better options in both farming simulators and mini-game collections regardless of what age you are, whether it be Harvest Moon or even an earlier Mama game. Gardening Mama 2: Forest Friends is a game polished through iteration, but it has nothing to say, no substance of value, and gameplay mechanics that should have went extinct nearly ten years ago. Gardening Mama 2 is worthless.

[More than "just another bike game."]

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TalkBack / Bike Rider DX2: Galaxy Review

« on: July 07, 2014, 03:51:00 AM »

More than "just another bike game."

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/38024/bike-rider-dx2-galaxy-review

Bike Rider DX 2: Galaxy sounds like the name of just another digital-only platformer where you play as a bicyclist (and it is), but it earns its share of credit for being the sequel to Bike Rider DX, a quality eShop game that establishes enough promise and potential to justify a sequel’s existence. While I cannot give it quite the same level of approval this game received in its original review, I can at least say this: Bike Rider DX 2 is good.

Bike Rider DX 2 is a runner, in that it’s a 2D platformer where the player character (a plain stick figure) automatically moves forward until he fails the level. Unlike games like Runner2, however, Bike Rider offers more autonomy.  There’s no ducking or dance button, but there’s double and multi-jumping, the player can move forward or backwards on the screen and there are several power-ups. One turns our hero into a frog that slows his movement while giving him charged jumps, while another is a pair of wings that gives him free flight. The controls are tight and responsive, and the gameplay manages to feel like a quality runner as well as a quality traditional platformer.

The main content of Bike Rider DX 2: Galaxy is split between two main modes: Galaxy Tour and Grand Prix. Galaxy Tour is the main platforming section, where you play across twelve galaxy worlds (each with five levels each) themed around the twelve zodiac animals. Levels are roughly 30-60 seconds long, with three medals to collect (a la New Super Mario Bros.) and a special crown if you manage to beat a level using only the jump button to maneuver.

While the themes range from extraterrestrial to Roman and beyond, the level design is static and unmemorable. Each world has its own set of variables, but the game reaches its max difficulty far before the game’s end (barring a series of bonus levels after the credits) and all of the traditional spike/pit/enemy hazards are relatively bland and predictable. It is nice that the individual worlds are visually colorful and the soundtrack is catchy, but it doesn’t have much of a personality in presentation outside of “that looks nice.” In this mode, everything is good enough and nothing more.

Grand Prix, the other main mode, is where the game truly comes alive. This is a more of a simple endless runner, where the game procedurally generates an endless level (around any level theme of your choosing) and you run as far as possible without dying. With two difficulty modes and online leaderboards, this is by far the best, most addicting part of the game. DX 2’s mechanics are far more interesting than its level design, so creating a mode that focuses on the former and puts the latter in the background makes for a more enjoyable experience.

Bike Rider DX 2: Galaxy is easily one of the better-playing indie platformers you can find on the eShop right now. Its mechanics are a fun fusion between two platformer styles and it carries a great foundation. However, for all of the fun its endless runner mode is, the base 60+ level campaign has little going for it outside of a reasonable three-hour run time. It’s hard to complain about a downloadable game that offers a more-than-reasonable amount of content and value, but Bike Rider DX 2: Galaxy only does enough with that content to reach adequacy.

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TalkBack / Re: Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai Remix Coming to the West in 2015

« on: July 02, 2014, 07:21:30 PM »

I played the Vita game earlier this year and loved it. Such a weird personality with such happy visuals. I'm all over this.

[Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney may seem great, but these mash ups could be even better.]

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TalkBack / Five Dream Nintendo Crossovers That Need to Happen

« on: July 02, 2014, 12:16:45 PM »

Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney may seem great, but these mash ups could be even better.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/37987/five-dream-nintendo-crossovers-that-need-to-happen

In preparation for the North American release of the excellent-looking Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (you can read our review here, some previews here, and see the newest E3 trailer for more info), I’ve started daydreaming about other Nintendo-centric crossovers I really want to happen. I don’t know if any of mine can even come close to the peanut butter and chocolate combo that is Layton and Wright, but I hope my top five will at least encourage you to think of better crossovers of your own. If you do have some ideas, be sure to share them in the comments below!   

5) Nintendo Kart

I put this one first because it’s the least surprising and most often discussed crossover, but Nintendo Kart is a dream that can never die. It’s no secret that I have problems with Mario Kart’s barrel-scraping character selection and uninspired single-player mode, and I think Nintendo Kart could be the jolt this series needs. I want to race as Pikachu against Link in a course based on F-Zero. I want to use a Screw Attack item that allows me to jump over Pit’s kart and send him spinning if we happen to collide. I want a single-player campaign that dives into multiple universes and pits me against non-playable boss racers that can manipulate the course at will. Ultimately, I think I want Super Smash Kart.

4) New Super Mario Bros vs. Super Mario Bros. 2

It may realistically result in less sales than New Super Mario Bros. 5, but a new game based in Subcon that takes the original vegetable throwing platforming and gives it a modern sheen would be amazing. I once attempted to float this idea for 3D Land DLC, but I think the idea would be better served as a sequel that recreates this weird Doki Doki Panic gameplay while putting it in a new 2D Mario context. There can be some updated physics, new playable Mario characters, new vegetable mechanics, and a new version of Wart that actually makes him relevant again.

3) Paper Zelda

Just like the successor Kirby’s Epic Yarn has found in Yoshi’s Woolly World, one dream of mine is for Intelligent Systems to make a Zelda spin-off in the style of Paper Mario. You might argue that Zelda’s lore isn’t built for the Paper Mario treatment, but it’s worth remembering that Mario was never really that comedic (despite its humorous presence) until someone made a funny RPG about it. In my hypothetical Paper Zelda game, I imagine two potential combat systems in place. The first option is a direct translation of the combat in the original two Paper Mario games (with partners, RPG mechanics, etc.), but my other idea is to, instead, simplify  Zelda combat, give it the classic top down camera, and combine it with the RPG mechanics found in Super Paper Mario. I think action elements would work better with Zelda than Mario, and if you add Paper Mario humor and a bright, beautiful presentation, I think we might have something special here.

2) Star Fox vs. Metroid

Sometimes, Samus has an on-rails shooter level. Sometimes, Fox goes outside his ship and into space areas to do some 2D action-platforming exploration.  Sometimes there is good AI co-op. Sometimes, there are bosses that require the expertise of both Samus and Fox. Star Fox will have to fight Dark Samus at one point, and Samus will have to face off against Star Wolf at one point. Eventually, the final boss fight will consist of both Andross and Ridley, and this will result in a final form that exists as a fusion of the two. Something like this was rumored once. I have no idea why it doesn’t exist yet.

1) Theatrhythm Pokémon

There have been so many Pokémon games and Pokémon spin-offs that it would be easy to curate a huge list of some of the best tracks this series has to offer. The puppet presentation, team selection, and RPG-like mechanics from Theatrhythm could easily translate into a wonderful, cutesy Pokémon rhythm game. The stages could take you through a journey to be a Pokémon master, the wild battle themes could be used as opportunities to catch new Pokémon, and the DLC could have added value with new Pokémon that can be caught in each song. Upon “catching” and equipping these Pokémon, they can be used as special boosts to help you as you play through songs on every difficulty. A proper Pokémon music game is one of my dream games, and Theatrhythm seems like the perfect vehicle to make that happen. As proof of concept, here are four songs (1, 2, 3, 4) that could easily make for perfect stages.

Those are some of the ideas I got. How about you? Alternatively, how hyped are you for the release of Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney in North America on August 29?

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 139: Shovel Pun

« on: June 29, 2014, 10:19:57 AM »

Alex's (I think it was Mr. Culafi, sorry if I'm wrong about this) rant about indie games having stupid pretentious meme/meta jokes in it kinda perplexed me. I guess Shovel Knight did a good job hiding some of it's jokes, then? I've caught at least 3 jokes directly relating to the fact that the game was crowd funded, and the first level very distinctly makes a Monty Python and the Holy Grail joke when you encounter the Black Knight for the first time. that I specifically pointed out in Daan Koopman's Shovel Knight video.

Referential humor doesn't bother me for the most part. Arrow in the knee, shoop-da-whoop, doge, o rly, me gusta, or any of those stupid lazy non-jokes that reference internet humor do. Even if it was an okay game, I ended up kind of hating Guacamelee's guts as a result. If Shovel Knight does this, I'm happy they kept it down to a minimum and hid it well enough that I didn't have to see it. Subtlety is a wonderful thing.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 138: Recovery

« on: June 24, 2014, 04:45:46 PM »

Wait...so with only a minute long trailer to go by we can already assume Kirby Rainbow Curse isn't going to be a $60 experience?


Flawless logic.


I mean, at least Nintendo is being flexible enough with pricing for Wii U games so far.

It doesn't make sense to me that it will, but if Nintendo can charge 40-50 for an HD Gamecube game, I guess they can charge 60 for a sequel to an early-cycle DS game.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 138: Recovery

« on: June 23, 2014, 12:04:30 PM »

I think Alex Culafi really did a disservice to trying to describe Dark Souls, but at the same time, I would say the games are hard to describe.

To me, at least, Playing Dark Souls is akin to... really, the first time you ever played the Legend of Zelda or perhaps Castlevania: Symphony of the Night? I'd say moreso The Legend of Zelda, yeah. the world is open, the games can easily be sequence broken, and the story is something that you only can fit the pieces of the puzzle together if you piece together what little scraps the game does give you and create your own headcannons. Alex speaks of it being a 60 hour Action RPG. this may be true for your first time, but I have started the game over a couple of times [1 NG+ playthrough and 1 with an alternate build to the one I tried the first time] and went 15 and 8 hours respectively, and I could probably go faster if not for grinding and faffing about in general trying things I hadn't on the first time. That's really where Alex fails to describe the idea that this is a game that can be played in MANY different and equally valid ways! you can practically rediscover the game by simply trying a different play style each time, and have so many tension filled moments!


I only started playing the first Dark Souls last April, and I -STILL- cannot put the game down. I was playing it while listening to this podcast [Playing NG+ on my DEX/INT build going through Duke's Archives. I also have a str build file I'm starting where I'm going to try and main the Demon's Great Axe or something and play most of the game with the fat roll and such. to see how playing the game tankier pans out for me when I'm so used to light/Woodgrain ring roll] before I paused the show to talk about this and my eventual segway into Bloodborne.

the combat is indeed weightier and more of a patient version of Ocarina of Time's Z targeting, where the recovery on attacks can leave you so open, and the enemies are VERY damaging. the amount of mechanics that work in this gameplay style's favor is more than I'm willing to list on this post to keep it from being a mile long, but the game is SO thoughtfully designed  on a basic level, and makes the combat in particular something where you have to step back and assess the situation. it's actually has a lot of the same assessing enemy placement and stiffness to combat that the original castlevania games had, where perseverance in deconstructing an encounter was just as important to the game as your manual dexterity.

The biig difference between any of the Souls games and Bloodborne is the idea that in the souls games, a lot of your time is spent behind a shield. block or parry an oncoming attack and retort with your own blow. Miyazaki-san wants to put the onus on the player rather than the enemy to create the offensive opening one would need to finish off the punishing enemies, and this intrigues me far more than Dark Souls 2, even if I am certainly playing that game and Demon Souls at some point.

It is a tough game to describe. To me, Dark Souls is the closest thing to a knight-in-shining-armor simulator because I always go in lumbering with sword, shield, and heavy armor. You're right though -- this game is great for completely different reasons to many different people.


It's also worth noting that this was recorded before most of the Bloodborne details were out.

264

TalkBack / Re: Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire Preview: Mega Dino Groudon

« on: June 17, 2014, 10:17:41 PM »

Best gen... in Bizarro World!

Only if you refer to real life as "Bizarro World."

[The best generation of Pokémon is coming to a new generation of fans.]

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TalkBack / Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire Preview: Mega Dino Groudon

« on: June 17, 2014, 07:09:33 AM »

The best generation of Pokémon is coming to a new generation of fans.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/preview/37834/pokemon-omega-ruby-and-alpha-sapphire-preview-mega-dino-groudon

Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire were only announced a few weeks ago, but the power of CoroCoro magazine leaks and E3 2014 have given us more than enough to dig through. The games are now coming out on November 21 (Canada is up in the air and Europe is getting the pair on November 28) and we have some idea of what they will look like, as well as lots of new Mega Evolutions and quite a bit more if you look below the surface.

First off, let’s talk about what Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are going to be. The E3 trailers showed off gyms (presumably the initial Rustboro one among them) in addition to Fortree City,  Seaside Cycling Road (the one right above Slateport), and what looks like the area right after Petalburg Woods and right before Rustboro City. From seeing this, it’s clear that Game Freak is taking Ruby and Sapphire and putting it in the X and Y engine (complete with new character art for everyone in the style of X and Y, including our protagonists). It could be just me, but, much like the jump from Diamond and Pearl to the Silver and Gold remakes, the colors do seem just a bit sharper and brighter than the 2013 games.

As for the region of Hoenn, Nintendo released new, extremely detailed artwork of the world map. Some of the landmarks seem new, with a few head-scratching locales like that weird ghostlike purple splotch at the top. However, most of the map seems extremely faithful and similar to the original games. Granted, there are some clouds that look like they’re intentionally covering parts of the map up, but I wouldn’t be surprised if these have just as few, if not fewer, new areas than HeartGold and SoulSilver.

I drew a bunch of circles of some interesting stuff I spotted on the map, though I didn’t look at every nook and cranny (there could be small things I missed). If you had any doubt, the Regi trio does seem to be coming back based on that map. What are the odds that our beloved braille adventure comes back too?

Thankfully, the games won’t end up being entirely straight remakes. The champion of the original, Steven Stone, has a Mega Charizard X and is trying to discover the secret of Mega Evolution. In addition to Blaziken (who seems to be taking on his X and Y form instead of pulling a Charizard and getting a new one), Sceptile (now with Dragon type and the Lightning Rod ability), Swampert (now with the Swift Swim ability), Diancie (now with a mystery ability), and Sableye are all getting new Mega Evolutions (as you can see in the trailers below).

Groudon and Kyogre also seem to be getting something akin to Mega Evolutions (as I predicted in my first preview), though these guys are called Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre rather than Mega Groudon or Mega Kyogre. They gain their new forms through a process called Primal Reversion, which takes them to their prehistoric state. Groudon is now Ground/Fire type (he is just Ground normally) and gets a boosted Attack stat, while Kyogre gains Special Attack and no new type.  There is a chance that the story is only adapting as necessary to X and Y’s plot, but I really hope the game does more to make the game bigger and better than the Team Magma and Aqua plot from the originals.

Speaking of which, Team Aqua and Team Magma are among features in the original games returning to the sequel. Maxie and Archie return to Magma and Aqua along with two admins respectively, and like Ruby and Sapphire, the team you face depends on your game version. Hopefully the story includes both teams like the original, with one being more sympathetic, while incorporating as many enhancements from Emerald as possible.

Lastly, let’s briefly go over the three trailers released during E3:

This is the trailer released during the Nintendo Digital Event. After the amazing intro that doesn’t tell us much, we get treated to a quick overview that focuses on the general games as well as the new Groudon and Kyogre forms. Outside of stuff mentioned above, the only especially interesting things are the beach battle with Mudkip that looks like that pre-Slateport beach (beautiful), Mr. Briney’s boat (that takes you to Dewford and Slateport), and the new designs of Maxie and Archie, with the former donning glasses and the latter appearing to change to a much darker skin color.

Not a ton to see here since it focuses directly on Sableye’s new Mega Evolution, but the form itself is cool. His eyes become red jewels (a Ruby perhaps?), his head spikes get more pronounced (and gains a middle one), and he now defends himself with a big red jewel that appears to exploit opponent weaknesses and act as a powerful defensive tool.

In this final E3 trailer, the biggest thing here we see is the return of Mach and Acro bikes. The Mach Bike is used to go fast and go up things like slippery mud, and the Acro is a slower, more technical bike that allows you to do more careful maneuvers like get over paths too skinny to walk across. From there, the evil teams, the starters, and the legendary Pokémon are showcased, but the trailer closes with a reveal of Mega Diancie. As opposed to the original, Mega Diancie is bigger and shinier, with all of the dull rock parts removed and replaced with diamonds and jewels. As of yet, its new ability (should it get one) is unknown.

And there you have it. This fall is looking like a pretty good time to be a Pokémon fan with this and Pokémon Art Academy releasing in North America within relative proximity to each other. Are you excited for these games? Are you more excited now than you may have been before? Are you counting off the days until November 21? Do you just want to say how bad you think Ruby and Sapphire are? Whatever your reason to give us a shout, feel free to sound off in the comments below.

266

TalkBack / Re: Xenoblade Chronicles X Preview: Making the Best Better

« on: June 15, 2014, 05:42:56 PM »

This sounds like people complaining about spoilers when E3 previews of the original Assassin's Creed talked about Desmond being in a simulation. The developer wouldn't be showing it to press if they didn't want consumers to know these things up front. It's not even like when PGC leaked the SSB Melee character roster back in the day -- that was info Nintendo wanted to be kept secret, at the time. And posting it was still the right thing to do for our site!


Anyway, I enjoyed the preview. Alex picked up some things I didn't even notice, although we watched the same trailer and demo (I was standing in the front row for that entire Treehouse stage demo). One note though, I think Soul Voice is the same QTE feature used in the first Xenoblade. Sometimes your allies would encourage you to fight harder or come back from near-death, and playing that mini-Ouendan/EBA game would activate the bonus. They might be tweaking what it does, but that's not really a new mechanic for X.

Thank you for reading, but I do believe that sensitivity to spoilers is perfectly okay -- especially in the face of a company like Nintendo who is remarkably insensitive to them. There's a formal discussion worth having one day, but Nintendo's campaigns have always revealed way too much while being completely ignorant of fans who want any kind of surprise. Remember 3D World? Companies do this regardless of whether the people want it; they do it because it will make the game look more interesting. Once the money is out of your hands and replaced with the game, they don't care about what's left to discover. Knowing this, I try to be sensitive on Nintendo's behalf when I can.

[As it turns out, the sequel to one of the best games of last generation looks pretty good.]

267

TalkBack / Xenoblade Chronicles X Preview: Making the Best Better

« on: June 12, 2014, 07:51:00 AM »

As it turns out, the sequel to one of the best games of last generation looks pretty good.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/preview/37788/xenoblade-chronicles-x-preview-making-the-best-better

Xenoblade Chronicles X is the upcoming kind-of-but-not-really sequel to 2012’s (really 2010’s) Xenoblade Chronicles on Wii. Pegged as a spiritual follow-up that tackles similar themes with a new story and cast, X continues Monolith Soft’s wonderful JRPG/MMO hybrid gameplay in high definition on Wii U. The game is now delayed into 2015 and it isn’t playable by the E3 crowd, but Nintendo fortunately graced us with a new trailer and well over a half-hour of gameplay footage.

Surprisingly, outside of its title, the new X trailer tells us a lot less than many of the other trailers this game has received. The story seems to be dealing with another invasion (from outer space this time), and the trailer teases the return of the Nopon race at the very end, which Riki was a part of in the original Xenoblade Chronicles. While the trailer had much less focus, at least we know Xenoblade Chronicles X is now called Xenoblade Chronicles X.

As for those 40 minutes of gameplay or so they showed on Nintendo Treehouse Live, it was the very beginning of the game, so there were no playable mechs to be seen in those opening areas. It’s worth noting that the next two paragraphs are going to be me describing the basic premise and story intro I saw to the demo, so any of you who are sensitive to minor spoilers should skip two paragraphs after this next one for gameplay talk (starting with “As opposed to...”).

The plot of the game, as I gathered, involves two alien factions fighting a war unrelated to Earth right above Earth’s orbit  (seemingly  coincidentally). The military prowess of these races far outmatches that of humanity, so as Earth gets destroyed as a matter of circumstance, the humans are trying to escape their dying planet while fending off aliens who don’t really see much of a threat in humanity. Earth blows up, and a city-sized ship representing the United States seems to be the only (or one of the only) surviving packets of humanity. Thanks to an alien attack, the ship makes a crash landing into an alien planet (mostly everyone survives, thankfully).

From here, your protagonist wakes up from stasis and you get to the customization screen. The plot then seems to involve you building society and cities from the remnants of humanity. The person giving the demo was saying how your job would involve finding farmers and people with skills that wouldn’t normally exist within the military (who are the first to wake up and the majority of those building the new society).

As opposed to Shulk in the last game, Xenoblade Chronicles X allows you to customize your character’s appearance and gender. This is a good thing, but I hope there are also preset voices that can make your character just as interesting as Shulk was in the first Xenoblade.  

As your character steps into the world, it becomes clear that this game is ostensibly Xenoblade on a grander scale. X looks better (though some textures are rough and there does appear to be a downgrade since the initial reveal trailer), there are still huge over-leveled monsters to fight as soon as five minutes in (one brontosaurus-like dinosaur monster was so big that the main character model was only as big as the dino’s toenail), and the world is sprawling. A phrase commonly used in games of scale that was used in the demo is “if you see it, you can go there.” This exploration is made easier thanks to a lack of fall damage and a very generous jump, meaning that going down or up a cliff should be relatively easy. Perhaps all of this reliance on scale means that the world will be fully connected this time around rather than being separated by the Wii game’s loading screens.

The combat, meanwhile, also seems like a slightly bigger version of the original Xenoblade. While you have a moveset and abilities displayed on an “Arts Pallet” that you use via a JRPG-style menu selection, the movement is in real time like an action game. So while you are using moves that are impacted by both TP (essentially move power points/mana) and a timed recharge, you are actively positioning yourself around the enemy to dodge using skill and deal the most damage-per-second possible. Additionally, the enemies range from passive to aggressive, with some changing aggression based on the weather.

I don’t think I saw everything that was new in the demo versus what was in the original game, but I saw bullet-based gunplay and a greater focus on long-ranged attacks. One of the interesting features was the dynamic relationship between long and short-ranged battling. If you fight up close with melee weapons, your TP charges faster and you can use more special attacks as a result. If you fight from afar, you fight safer but your TP charges more slowly. This is all happening while fighting along with your partner, who is able to fight alongside you, revive you if they get to you in time (at a cost of TP), and trigger a special move called Soul Voice that can grant bonuses or health if you press the B button at the right time in the middle of battle.

There are still quests and there are still many of the same building blocks we know and love, so barring any multiplayer surprises, the core gameplay of Xenoblade Chronicles X seems to be that of Xenoblade Chronicles on Wii, only bigger and better.  I don’t know about you, but that sounds pretty great to me.

268

TalkBack / Re: The Legend of Zelda (Wii U) Preview: Zelder Scrolls

« on: June 11, 2014, 07:41:32 PM »

but I think a potential third option is to make the playable character so androgynous that the character sounds and looks equally masculine and feminine (as this hero seems to look). So long as the gender is never revealed, we get a character that can truly be everything to everyone while still being a tangible human character. Everyone wins.

Worst possible option. Far too girly to be a man, not cute enough to be a girl.

I guess we play games from different perspectives. I enjoy games where I can identify as the player character as easily as possible and don't really care about aesthetic character design so much. If they won't do customization and don't want the same old Link, I would prefer this far more than a female Link personally. Just male enough to appeal to people like me who want to play as men and just feminine enough to appeal to people who want to play as women. To me, it's a proper next step in the blank-slate nearly-silent protagonist.

[We take a long look at and analyze Miyamoto's newly announced Star Fox game.]

269

TalkBack / Star Fox (Wii U) Preview: Justifying the Wii U GamePad

« on: June 11, 2014, 12:21:36 PM »

We take a long look at and analyze Miyamoto's newly announced Star Fox game.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/preview/37771/star-fox-wii-u-preview-justifying-the-wii-u-gamepad

Among F-Zero and Metroid, Star Fox remains in the B-tier Nintendo franchise club, a club that consists of games that are widely known and loved but not given quite as much attention as many fans would like. Some of the games in this club (especially F-Zero) haven’t gotten a proper sequel in quite a long time, but Star Fox is finally taking its first steps into proper sequel-hood – with Shigeru Miyamoto at the helm.  

As it stands, the game seems to be in very early stages, with little more than basic visuals and its gameplay mechanics, though Miyamoto claims the game is in full development. The big Nintendo Digital Event press release succinctly describes the game as the following:

“Star Fox (working title) turns the Wii U GamePad into the view from the cockpit of Fox McCloud’s Arwing fighter. While the TV shows the perspective from behind the Arwing, players can also use the gyro sensors of the GamePad to intuitively and independently target enemies. Players can instantly switch between the Arwing and Landmaster tank with the press of a button, and the game also introduces a new helicopter-type vehicle. The game is scheduled for 2015.”

In other words, Star Fox gameplay has always been about the ship’s reticle following you as you move your on-rails vehicle. In Star Fox on Wii U, it appears that you are going to be able to keep your ship stationary while independently targeting enemies, or you can choose to barrel roll and move one way while targeting in another direction. This sounds a bit unwieldy at first, but this could prove intuitive if the GamePad does not force too much movement.

In the demo offered to select press before the show, three modes were on offer: one offered simple dogfighting Star Fox stages with the new mechanics, the second offered a battle with Star Wolf, and the third involved a large open area where perspective would switch between a helicopter in the sky and a robot on the ground. The robot, tethered to the ship, would fight, explore, and get collectibles closer to the earth. Above all, the game seems designed around gameplay that would make both screens necessary in ways that one screen just couldn’t handle.

This demo, along with Miyamoto’s other recently-announced titles, seems to elaborate on why the DS and Wii U are so fundamentally different and, more importantly, why the GamePad is wholly unique. The real secret sauce to Wii U’s control scheme is that unlike the DS, the Wii U’s bottom screen is not tethered to the top and neither is the gyroscope. Because of this, the top screen can be stationary and constant, and the bottom screen can be mobile. Star Fox makes it clear that Wii U is far more than a DS home console.

Outside of gameplay, Kotaku revealed two fascinating details about the development of the new game. Regarding the story, Miyamoto stated, “We're in an era when people have a limited amount of time… to play these long story-based games, so there will be a story for the game, but you'll be able to choose the missions you want to play." As a follow-up, Kotaku noted “[Miyamoto] said there will be arena-like missions and "valley" missions that sound like they're the conventional on-rails missions from the earliest game in the series.”

This makes it sound like Star Fox is going to be not-so-linear, which is fine, but something even more surprising came up in the interview when Miyamoto discussed his plans for this 2015 game.

“[Miyamoto] said that Nintendo is seeking development partners on it, making it sound like the game is far, far from done.”

This tells me two things. The first is that this game isn’t going to be fully done in 2015 unless it is a small experience. The second, a more positive outlook, is that we could potentially get Platinum on board for the Star Fox game everyone knows they’re perfect for. A Miyamoto-engulfed Star Fox game would maybe be preferable, but a Hideki Kamiya-directed one might be the next best thing.

One more interesting tidbit picked up from early coverage (earlier than expected in some cases) is that Miyamoto may have a creative release plan for the new Star Fox game.

“Honestly I don’t have a clear idea myself yet, but one thing I’m thinking is that with this Star Fox we may take a different approach, so that rather than one big title we have multiple releases that are connected through different missions,” said Miyamoto in his interview with Time. “If I was to describe the Star Fox series up until now as being sort of a movie series, I guess I’d describe this new approach as something that’s more like a TV series for Star Fox. “

I wonder how they would make a Star Fox game episodic. Would they do one mode at a time? Would they nix the story and just release mission packs? I think the smartest thing to do would be to launch a single “shell” that contains a full multiplayer mode and the first campaign episode. As the other campaign episodes are released (with 1-3 hours of gameplay each I imagine), they are slowly added into the base shell to slowly make a complete game. This way, Miyamoto gets his episodic series and everyone else gets a complete game somewhere down the line. And of course, side missions, multiplayer maps, and perhaps even vehicles can be added with enough time.

In reality, the most we know about the new Star Fox game is that it exists and the creator of Mario is currently working hard on it. That might not mean as much as a big trailer or some public E3 footage, but there’s worse news to get than “a new Star Fox game officially exists and hasn’t been cancelled.” Here’s hoping we see a wonderful new series entry by the end of  next year.

270

TalkBack / Re: The Legend of Zelda (Wii U) Preview: Zelder Scrolls

« on: June 11, 2014, 06:18:18 PM »

Have any of your NWR guys that are there had a chance to play Xenoblade Chronicles X? That game actually excites me more than Zelda U. We know how expansive it's world will be (at least all of us that played the Original Xenoblade do)

Not on the show floor unfortunately.

271

TalkBack / Re: The Legend of Zelda (Wii U) Preview: Zelder Scrolls

« on: June 11, 2014, 01:02:18 PM »

Alex speaking positive things about a Nintendo game? Wow this really is a good E3 for Nintendo. Hope some of this carries over into the next podcast. Would love to hear you not be a debbie downer for 80% of the time talking about Nintendo games.

Focus on the 20%!

[In which we guess the gender of our new "Link" and analyze the idea of an open world Zelda.]

272

TalkBack / The Legend of Zelda (Wii U) Preview: Zelder Scrolls

« on: June 11, 2014, 05:41:09 AM »

In which we guess the gender of our new "Link" and analyze the idea of an open world Zelda.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/preview/37760/the-legend-of-zelda-wii-u-preview-zelder-scrolls

After a year and a half of promises that the next big game would change series convention, and many months following the ambitious The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, we finally get our first substantial look at what this new Zelda game is actually going to be like. Whether you think Nintendo’s overall showing was amazing or questionable, most of us can agree on this: Zelda looks special.

During the Nintendo Digital Event, series Director Eiji Aonuma started the reveal by discussing his philosophy in approaching the new game. At first, Aonuma started discussing the original NES Zelda game in great detail, stating how great he thought its wide, scrolling world was. Although this seemed to hint at a potential return to the top-down format, this new Zelda game is actually taking inspiration from the original’s open world more than its mechanics and look.

“For example, in Wind Waker, we used various techniques to create a wide world where you could freely explore many isolated islands, but it was very hard to create one large world where everything felt connected,” Aonuma said. “We had to design small, bounded areas with a defined entrance and exit, and putting it all together made it feel like you were playing in a large world. But, you still couldn’t cut through the boundaries wherever you’d like to explore that world.”

Saying this, it’s clear that Aonuma has large aspirations for this upcoming game – aspirations that are manifesting themselves as, you guessed it, the first truly open world Zelda. There wasn’t much to see other than a distant landscape, though Aonuma promises that the entire map will be entirely open. My sneaking suspicion is that the game  map will pull either an Elder Scrolls or Grand Theft Auto in the sense that the boundaries will be un-climbable mountains or an “endless ocean” that surrounds the bulk of the map.

The other potential connection to Elder Scrolls (and many other similar open world action-adventure RPGs) is the world design itself. You can approach the game however you want in even greater fashion than some of the older Zelda games, and that many of the “puzzle” elements are found in figuring out where you want to go, getting there, and doing what you want to do once you get there. And naturally, you will surely run into many trials, tribulations, and enemies on the way to your destinations (in the same way many of these types of games have dynamic enemy placement). All of this tells me that the concept of a dungeon is probably going to be radically altered as a result of this world shift, and that this game will probably incorporate a quest line system to give the world many smaller stories in addition to whatever main one they put in (to actually make use of a less-linear world).

Ending the video, Aonuma showed off a teaser trailer that I can only describe as dreamlike. Everything momentarily looks nice, until out of nowhere, a cyborg-looking octopus monster starts shooting futuristic-looking lasers at what we can only presume to be the protagonist while a quick and light un-Zelda piano piece starts playing. At the bridge, the presumed protagonist lifts his or her veil and starts shooting explosive-tipped arrows from a bow that seems to offer transformative qualities (if not the arrows themselves). As for the visual style, it seems to be like that of Skyward Sword, though environments are a bit more realistic and the colors are more reminiscent of Wind Waker.

Perhaps most importantly, we then get a reveal of our hero, someone who looks like the Links we know but just a little different. Aonuma stated in an interview with Venture Beat, “No one explicitly said that that was Link.” If it’s not Link, this tells me that we’re either looking at another character who will be playing the “Link” role, OR this will be a character you may play with in a potential multiplayer mode.

Some want a female playable character and some want full customization, but I think a potential third option is to make the playable character so androgynous that the character sounds and looks equally masculine and feminine (as this hero seems to look). So long as the gender is never revealed, we get a character that can truly be everything to everyone while still being a tangible human character. Everyone wins.

As someone who has never been excited for a Zelda game despite playing many of them, I think it says something that I am absolutely over the moon with how this is turning out. In 2015, we may finally get the next true evolution in Zelda. Be ready for it.

273

TalkBack / Re: Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire are the Best/Worst Games in the Series

« on: June 06, 2014, 11:01:08 PM »

The article simply states that, if you're the kind of person who likes all the things that weren't well-received by the majority of Pokemon fans in Ruby and Sapphire, you liked Ruby and Sapphire.

People still bitch and moan about me saying Super Mario 3D Land is the worst 3D Mario of them all and giving legitimate critique, so excuse me if I feel something that parrots the popular opinion of a game with an added "but I liked them" is a weak argument, or one that could be expanded upon.

I feel a forum discussion is better for this type of subject because then we could see the variety in people's opinions of the game. This just doesn't seem to warrant a full article, but that's just my OPINION. It's still going to stay on the site, I was just merely commenting on it.

I thank you for giving your opinion and I enjoy seeing people so passionate about this topic; I would like to say, though, that my article wasn't quite as simple as "It has a lot of water and I like it even though you don't." I sure did like many of the things that sparked criticism, but I feel like I at least fairly elaborated on why I liked them. I like the style, sound, look, and Poke-designs because I admire how colorful, bold, and different everything is. The design, while occasionally dipping into obtuse territory, does so in a way that makes me feel like I'm properly journeying around Hoenn.  Is any of what I'm saying that lazy or that unfair?

274

TalkBack / Re: Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire are the Best/Worst Games in the Series

« on: June 05, 2014, 02:25:30 PM »

I like how one-sided this article is- one person has a falling out with Pokemon because Ruby and Sapphire sucked and the other enjoys every aspect that made the game insufferable.

Why is Ruby and Sapphire the worst pair of Pokemon games? Well, in trying to "diversify" it's versions it came up with two equally lame evil organizations with the most ridiculous schemes ever. There are far more duds in R/S than any other entry and it started the overcomplicated design trend that the series has only recently eased up on. The region and it's ridiculous obsession with water still end up being extremely bland, even though they tried really hard to make it interesting with weather choices, which wouldn't be well-implemented until the next generation.

I understand that people try to defend something they like staunchly even when it's widely regarded as subpar, but I would have preferred more opinions from more writers on these games. If you're going to have two people argue why a game is good or bad, I'd like to hear more variation than harping on all the reasons it's bad.

Who's harping? Is it that unreasonable that two people end at two justifiable, opposing ends of the spectrum? And where is the one side?

[Alex Culafi and Justin Berube explain their polar opposite views on Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire.]

275

TalkBack / Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire Are the Best/Worst Games in the Series

« on: June 05, 2014, 06:14:00 AM »

Alex Culafi and Justin Berube explain their polar opposite views on Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/37545/pokemon-ruby-n-sapphire-are-the-bestworst-games-in-the-series

Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire launched on the Game Boy Advance back in March 2003. These games marked a new beginning for the Pokémon franchise in many ways, and due to this fact, it remains one of the most controversial Pokémon games in the series.

With the November release of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire on the horizon, it has sparked much discussion about the old games they are based on. NWR Previews Editor Alex Culafi thinks Ruby & Sapphire are the best Pokémon games in the series, while Features Editor Justin Berube thinks they are the worst. Read through both of their opinions and then be sure to chime in with your thoughts in the comments section below.