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Messages - Webmalfunction

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476
TalkBack / Nintendo Revealing New Wii U Mario Game at E3
« on: April 16, 2012, 02:17:34 PM »

There is no official word on whether this has anything to do with New Super Mario Bros. Mii.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/29828

A new Super Mario game will be announced at this year's E3, as reported by Spanish newspaper El Mundo and later confirmed by Nintendo.

While interviewing Shigeru Miyamoto while he was in Paris promoting a 3DS Louvre tour guide, El Mundo was told that at E3 2012, "Nintendo will present a new Super Mario for this platform, in which you will combine the TV screen with the screen in the controller."

When Eurogamer asked Nintendo to confirm the report, the company responded with the following:

"In a recent interview, Mr. Miyamoto confirmed that a new Super Mario Bros. game for the Wii U system will be shown at this year's E3 Expo," a Nintendo spokesperson said. "We'll have more to announce about our plans for the E3 Expo at a later date."

In the past year, Nintendo has confirmed both New Super Mario Bros. Mii and a 2D Super Mario game for 3DS. Whether this upcoming announcement has anything to do with these games is currently unknown.

 

477
TalkBack / Kid Icarus: Uprising Review
« on: April 15, 2012, 09:26:33 PM »

Sakurai brings Pit back from the dead to give us the first really good Kid Icarus game in twenty fi—ever.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/29810

Kid Icarus: Uprising is the result of several years of hard work by Masahiro Sakurai's Project Sora team. As a natural progression of the 2D air and land battles of the original Kid Icarus, Uprising pulls a Super Mario 64 and brings the gameplay into 3D. After two years of concern over the controls and progression of a series that wasn't necessarily beloved to begin with, Masahiro Sakurai shows us that his genius bleeds through no matter the situation, even if the entire experience isn’t the most cohesive.

The gameplay in Kid Icarus is a little different from most games in its genre. Half of each level is spent in an excellent Star Fox-like rail shooter where you fight enemies and receive the setup for the story. The second part is spent in a third-person action section, where instead of moving the reticle and pressing L over and over, you move Pit using the Circle pad, attack with L, and handle both the camera and power-ups with the bottom screen. While many complain about the camera (and have a right to), I think the controls work well once you’re acclimated. With that said, that quality isn't an excuse for making an entire part of the game an inconvenience to play. Cameras should not have learning curves. Initially, the shooter sections are the better of the two, though land combat— where secrets, more enemies, and more unique situations occur—takes that position as the story develops. In addition, replaying levels for weapons and points is incredibly addictive,and likely took up the bulk of my time outside of completing the story itself.

The game contains a remarkably deep weapon system. The game’s dozens of weapons have their own stats, value, and bonus effects, even between two of the exact same weapon. There are 10 weapon classes to choose from (from the melee-focused clubs to the sniping-focused staff's). Each weapon within also has its own pros and cons. This creates an ideal scenario in which there is no super-secret best weapon, but rather a best weapon for one individual. Kid Icarus offers a weapon fusing system on top of this, allowing the combination of two weapons to form a new weapon that's almost always more powerful than either, but sometimes ends up being worse altogether. On top of this, there are vehicles in stages with unique weaponry. For example, a light tank focused on speed is typically included on racing-track stage sections. Another, a robotic fighting suit, is used to annihilate enemies with ease, despite being quite slow. The controls are somewhat less stable for these vehicles, but their inclusion is a fun way to breakup the combat.

Uprising includes bosses at the end of each chapter, and while some are quite fun, a many are equally generic, lazy, and sometimes barely existent. A fair few bosses aren't even real bosses, but rather enemy waves featuring a central "pod" to attack. Likewise, much of the great original level design is countered by an almost equivalent number of levels that drag on far too long or include unexciting mechanics. An example: one chapter is almost nothing more than enemy waves, with no exploration to speak of. Even though some parts of the game are on the shaky side, I see these them as easily forgivable, especially considering that this game is about four times longer than the average rail shooter..

If nothing else, Uprising’s story certainly has some distinctive characteristics . The narrative involves Pit and Palutena trying to take down Medusa. While the base idea starts simple and Nintendo-y enough, Project Sora inserts all the real plot into the dialog, and for the first time in years, a non-RPG Nintendo first-party game has a story that's genuinely clever and, for the most part, genuinely well-written. While the back and forth exchanges made me laugh now and again, though, what really astounded me was how much I cared about Pit as a character, felt intimidation by the antagonist, and got terribly into what was going on as the game progressed.

Kid Icarus features multiplayer (called Together Mode), allowing local and online play. The offering includes two six-player modes, Free-For-All (in which angels do land battle, gaining points by defeating one another), and Light vs. Dark. In the latter mode, teams do battle against each other, with a life bar representing their respective status. Once a team’s life bar runs out,the most recently defeated team member becomes an angel, and the defeat of a team’s angel signals the end of a game. Both multiplayer modes are an absolute blast, as there are plenty of rewards and incentives for playing (like weapons and powers), and the game is incredibly addictive, in a way I’d compare to Metroid Prime Hunters. And like that game, I wouldn't be against the idea of saying multiplayer in Kid Icarus is equally as fun as single-player (though not more so).

Kid Icarus is also visually incredible. The graphics look far better than anything else on the 3DS and could easily stand against something from the later part of the GameCube’s life. Alongside fantastic character models, the environments are the true graphical stars of the game. The Grecian towns, full-scale battles taking place on the ground below, and the entirety of nature comes to life, and the environments look pretty enough to make the on-rails sections feel like part of a planet more than part of a level. Musically, Kid Icarus is also fantastic. Featuring various composers from outside sources, the music provides a real soundtrack rather than part of a generic orchestral score. Most of these songs are quite memorable, and some songs are very Nintendo-like in how they twist a main theme into a completely different song.

In addition to multiplayer and the single-player campaign, Uprising includes many smaller modes as well. The heavily touted AR Card Battle, where players place the included augmented reality cards across from each other to do battle via the 3DS camera. It's simplistic and doesn't necessarily add much to the overall experience, but it was definitely fun for what it was. In addition to AR battling, players can also scan cards to form Idols in the game. One of my favorite features is Treasure Hunt, an achievement system that unlocks Idols, currency, weapons, music,and more for (almost) every achievement.

The game sports a feature called "Fiend's Cauldron" that allows the player to choose a difficulty (between 0.0 and 9.0) and bet a number of hearts (the game's currency) on the player’s level of success. Losing once provides a loss of some rewards, as well as a drop in the initially selectable difficulty. In addition to hearts, playing the game on significantly higher difficulties and staying alive results in significantly better weapons, power-ups, and rewards. Although a fantastic idea, Fiend's Cauldron is broken in execution. First off, betting in the Fiend's Cauldron does not actually feel like betting—it just feels like selecting a difficulty. This is fine, except when losing once (when not gunning for rewards) drops the difficulty, ultimately feeling like a forced Super Guide. In addition, it is terribly easy to manipulate the system into giving better rewards. If you are a player who is not very good and sets the game on 9.0, not all of the rewards are lost upon losing. On top of this, the player should win the level eventually after enough tries. With this reasoning, setting the difficulty to max and losing a bunch of times will still usually result in a 2.3 player being able to win on 5.6 difficulty, obtaining tons of rewards and weaponry not necessarily deserved. To combat this, maybe an option could have been added to allow static difficulty at the cost of no rewards (for good practice), and maybe a five-life system akin to Smash Bros. to make it so a player couldn't easily have mid-game level weaponry by Chapter 2.

By the time I had put Uprising down, I had clocked about 20 hours—12 or so for the story, and the rest in multiplayer, replaying stages, and general bonus stuff. When I was through, I couldn't help but be overjoyed that the 3DS finally has a game this original, this good, and this... first party. While there were some bumps and rough patches in the experience, Uprising contains more than enough positive elements to easily counter them. The game is monumental, and acts as a true showcase of what the 3DS is capable of. If a game like Kid Icarus: Uprising comes out this early in a system life cycle, I can only dream of what Nintendo (or their subsidiaries) will think of next.


478
TalkBack / Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Review
« on: April 15, 2012, 11:18:20 AM »
How many times do I have to say that research was done before making that statement?

If you guys can't see the obvious similarities, I don't care. If you guys want to call me wrong on something subjective, go ahead. I made my case on the Connectivity segment. Either listen to it and hear my full case, or don't. Either way, I said that Xenoblade was a great game and you guys are up in arms because I said that the game doesn't look good (which it doesn't), and rightfully compared the textures to Nintendo 64 in one sentence. Enough people have said the exact same thing already. Just deal with the opinion (which by the way, is not the same as me claiming it factually used N64 technology--it's claiming that these models would not be impressive by N64 standards in the slightest).

479
TalkBack / Re: Pokémon Smash Details Starters, Shows Off Early Areas in Black and White 2
« on: April 15, 2012, 10:31:07 AM »
Shaymin, I've thought about that a bit myself. Look out for a preview next week that should go over it in appropriate detail.

480
TalkBack / Pokémon Smash Details Starters, Shows Off Early Areas in Black and White 2
« on: April 14, 2012, 09:51:05 PM »

Calm down. It's not nearly as exciting as you think.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/29822

Pokémon Smash has revealed new information regarding the upcoming release of Pokémon Black and White 2.

During the television program, series director Junichi Masuda made an appearance to show off the first part of the game. Although not much new information has been revealed, it was shown that, like Pokémon Black and White, Tepig, Snivy, and Oshawott will be the starters. He also showed that routes are more detailed (Azurill and Lillipup are seen together within an early route) and the Pokemon have animations not present in the original. Finally, the playthrough showed that the starting city, Hiougi City, is significantly larger than previous starting areas.

Pokémon Black and White 2 releases in Japan on June 23.


481
TalkBack / New Japanese Trailer for Pokémon Black and White 2 Revealed
« on: April 14, 2012, 03:27:19 PM »

The first in-game footage for the first same-generation sequels is now available.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/video/29809

A new trailer for Pokémon Black and White 2 has been released.

Although not much new information has been shown, the video showcases several of the locations appearing in the game, such as an underwater tunnel, the new water-type gym, and a stage area. The game also shows off the new protagonists, as well as new trumpet-focused music reminiscent of Pokémon Ruby, Saphire, and Emerald.

At the end of the trailer, a preview for the upcoming Pokemon movie is shown, as well as in-game footage of the recently revealed legendary Pokémon Keldeo.


482
Podcast Discussion / Episode 30: PAX-oholics
« on: April 14, 2012, 12:42:12 PM »

Xenoblade, PAX roundup, and live Jeopardy!

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/connectivity/29811

Welcome to episode 30 of Connectivity! We survived PAX, and are here to regale you with stories of our voyage.

But first, Alex sits down with Scott to talk about Xenoblade Chronicles. He just reviewed the highly-anticipated JRPG, and he is here to convince everyone of its excellence. Plus, he addresses the controversy of his "N64-quaility graphics" remark by throwin' up middle fingers and doing the old D-Generation X suck-it motion.

After that, Neal, Lauren, Scott, and Zach spill the beans on PAX. What was on the show floor, how did the live panel go, and who is an excellent drunk bowler; these pressing questions are finally answered.

Closing things out is the entire live Jeopardy panel. The whole thing was a blast, and we hope you'll enjoy it now, in its not-so-live version. Also, you can find the last half hour or so on YouTube thanks to our guy Jared.

Whether you've been listening to the show since day one, or you're a new listener after seeing us at PAX, you should send us some listener mail! Click here to do so. Again, thanks to everyone who came out to see us in Boston. The whole experience was incredible.


483
TalkBack / CoroCoro Reveals New Pokémon Black and White 2 Details
« on: April 12, 2012, 09:32:49 PM »

The magazine unveils a plethora of details, including new protagonists, a new rival, and a Pokédex with over 100 new entries.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/29799

CoroCoro magazine has revealed the first substantial information regarding Pokémon Black and White 2 since its initial reveal in February.

The games takes place in Unova, though the landscape has changed drastically. Two years have passed since the original Black and White, so part of Unova is now covered with ice, and certain locations have been added or altered. For instance, Route 4 has been retouched, and Challenger's Cave has been removed entirely. There are other new locations as well, like Hiougi City, the starting city in the game, which features a Pokémon Center as well as a trainer school.

Black and White 2 sports two new protagonists, as well as a new rival. The protagonists appear to be quite similar to those of the original games, though the spiky-haired rival (whose role in the game is currently unknown) resembles no previous characters. The game also adds a new Pokémon researcher, Akuroma, who researches Pokemon strength.

The magazine also notes that Unova will now support a Pokédex of over 250 Pokemon (as opposed to the 156 of the original Black and White games). In addition to Unova Pokémon, Pokémon from previous generations will also appear—Riolu is listed as #33, Psyduck as #26, and Metagross as #254. Eevee, Lapras, Arcanine, Tyranitar, and Mareep have also been confirmed for the new Pokédex.

Like Pokémon Emerald and Platinum versions, Black and White 2 will have an altered gym structure from the original games. A poison gym leader, Homika, will be joining the ranks, with her gym being a music club of sorts. Another, Shizui, is a water-type leader. Although little additional information has been confirmed regarding Black Kyurem and White Kyurem, it has been revealed that Black Kyurem will know the special move Freeze Shock, and White Kyurem will know the move Ice Burn.

Pokémon Black and White 2 releases in Japan on June 23 of this year, with international releases following in the fall.


484
TalkBack / Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Review
« on: April 12, 2012, 03:03:35 PM »
That's an interesting use of the word "fact", James.

Also, I did take note of how much the game does with its scale in my review. In fact, I'm not even saying that the graphics aren't forgivable. My only point was that, contrary to what many have been saying, Xenoblade is not a beautiful game (obviously, in my opinion). I go into further detail in the Connectivity thing I just did with Scott.

485
TalkBack / Re: My First PAX East
« on: April 10, 2012, 10:02:51 PM »
Happens

486
TalkBack / My First PAX East
« on: April 10, 2012, 09:41:40 PM »

Alex tells a story filled with love, loss, and too much StreetPassing.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/blog/29773

Almost three months ago, I started writing for Nintendo World Report with no expectations whatsoever, being nothing more than a listener of Radio Free Nintendo and occasional reader of the site. I had never been to a video game convention, I had never been given access to a game before a majority of the public, and I had never even had in-person video game conversations with people until this point. After one thing leading to another (as is often the case) I found myself with a media badge talking to developers and hanging out with members of a site I've had a one-way relationship with for about four years or so. The point of this blog is to chronicle my day, the day of someone who went from doing absolutely nothing to doing absolutely everything.

After arriving at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center at 9:20 in the morning, I figured there was enough time to get my media badge and still be able to get a good seat in the Connectivity panel at 10. Unfortunately, I had no idea how long the media line would end up being, and as I was internally complaining about where the back of the line was, a cheery PAX Enforcer pointed out I was actually at the halfway point. So, trudging to the back, I waited out 50 minutes experiencing a constant influx of StreetPasses and overhearing some guys from Destructoid talk about all the different PAXs they’d been to. Eventually, I made it to the front, and actually ran into fellow staff members James Jones and Jonny Metts as I grabbed my pass.

At 10:15, I finally arrived to the Connectivity panel Scott, Neal, and Lauren were running. The game of Jeopardy was awesome (as expected), and I received a light tease from the panel after my phone went off (the crowd concealed my identity—until they figured out who I was). My favorite part of the whole thing was the impromptu Q & A session (in which there was one kid no older than 13 who likely knew more about video games than any of the contestants, or staff, for that matter), and an amazing Ness cosplay complete with wiffleball bat. Afterwards, there was more StreetPass cycling and general hanging out, where I met (in addition to those previously mentioned) Jared, Karlie, Jon Lindemann, Billy Brown, and Guillaume—all awesome people (of course).

Now it was about 11:15, and there was about 45 minutes of down time until everyone was supposed to meet up again. With this opportunity, I quickly went to the show floor to see if the rumors I was hearing were true. I gunned for Lollipop Chainsaw, where, to my great joy, Machinima was interviewing Suda51. Immediately after, I (politely) rushed him to see if we could get a picture together. Thankfully, we could.

Afterward, I went back to the floor, immediately getting somewhat intimidated by the absolutely immense scale of things. That quickly subsided, however, once I realized how amazing of an environment it was. Every PAX-goer was polite and considerate, the bathrooms were pristine,and everyone was friendly enough that I could say hello to someone and make a friend instantly. Although I didn't get to play anything more than a quick round of Mario Tennis Open (it's all right), I still had a blast in the remaining half hour, even getting a picture with the guys from Mega64 (though Rocco's head got blocked out by mine).

Noon signaled the staff meet-up outside of the Classic Console Freeplay area, where we all used StreetPass in silence for about 10 minutes before deciding to get to Dim Sum in Chinatown, where I brought shame to those who know how to use chopsticks and ended up trying more new foods than I thought. (The MVPs were definitely the barbecue pork buns and fried turnip cake).The best part was that the total for 12 people actually ended up being well below 10 dollars per person, a fact more perplexing than pleasing once you understand how much food was absorbed by all of us.

Comfortably filled and ready to go, we went back to the show floor, and this time, I was determined to play all the games I could. Well, I was, until Lollipop Chainsaw, Aliens: Colonial Marines, and Max Payne 3 all had waits of over an hour. So, I went to Nintendo's booth again to see if I could wrestle up a pack of Kid Icarus cards. As it turns out, to get the awesome Nintendo swag, you had to play a round of Kid Icarus: Uprising multiplayer, but there was only a 10-minute wait, so it was cool. I waited, tried to get Jessie Cantrell from Nintendo Show 3D to notice mewhile waiting (and didn't), and ended up trouncing the other Light vs. Dark team. After getting the pack of cards, a Nintendo rep gave us all a generic "admit one" ticket, which allowed all Kid Icarus players to get a free 3DS t-shirt, Zelda comic, Spirit Camera holographic, and Xenoblade poster. I just wanted the poster and the shirt.

After that, I went to the other game line that was short and I had interest in: Joe Danger: The Movie. For those of you who don't know, it's a vehicle tilting game (think Excitebike with more focus on tilting to land correctly) coming to PSN and XBLA. It was damn awesome, and anyone who played received a free code for either version of the original (a 15 dollar value!). That's coming out this summer, and the guy who I talked to (who does art for the game) placed the inspiration for the titles in old games on the original Nintendo and Sega systems, a fact which makes sense once you consider how much platforming they manage to squeeze into a racing game. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to play Bit.Trip Runner 2, as I totally forgot, but Neal says it's awesome, so I'm still pumped for that.

To see the player side of PAX, I went to the Handheld Lounge, possibly the most relaxed place I’ve ever seen. The room was just a hallway with Sumo chairs, which are very comfortable beanbag chairs, set up for socialization or play of any kind. I cycled through more StreetPasses there (up to about 100, and that's because I was barely doing it), and met a guy who told me how to get swag bags. Upon finding out, I immediately went to the massive line in the food court,which only took about three minutes to get through due to the efficiency of the staff. Inside theMagic the Gathering spaghetti string bags were advertisements, one month of Xbox Live Gold, a deck of Magic cards, a code for Magicka, and a boxed copy of Rift.

Around 4:30 PM we all met up at Square Enix to see Final Fantasy: Theatrhythm, Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance, and Heroes of Ruin. Since this was my first press-only gathering, I had absolutely no idea what would happen. It ended up involving all of us stuffed in a hotel suite with reps describing games to us while we played, with the entire room being remodeled seemingly overnight to include multiple televisions, multiple 3DS setups, and an entire table of excellent snacks and high-class water. We finished up at about 5 PM.

When we got back, I didn't really do much on the show floor, and instead elected to play on the Vectrex, an old console self-contained in a monitor featuring vector graphics and overlays. The game I played, Tour de France, was likely the least exciting game I've ever played (you "race" people on a bike—that's it), but the idea of finally playing a system I’d only read about in retro gaming magazines was incredible, and easily a highlight of the day. When I finished, I went a few doors down to the Console Gaming Room to play some Super Smash Bros. Brawl with Jared, Neal, Scott, and Jon. Jared wrecked everyone, though Scott followed him closely. I ended up in the same tier as Jon and Neal because I used my Captain Falcon as great spamming material, a handicap I gave myself for having not played the game in two years (as well as generally sucking at competitive video games—I admit it).

At 6 PM, I went back to the show floor to see all the booths closing down, a strange sight considering the convention hall closed at 2 AM. While I'm glad I had a full day to partake in the "fresh gaming" experience, I am slightly saddened that I never got a chance to play Theatrhythm. I made my way back up to the stairs to see Neal about to sign up for the 6 PM KidIcarus multiplayer tournament, only to join Jon, James, and Karlie on their way to the Classic Arcade, which tries to effectively recreate an arcade from the 1980s. I wasn't alive then, but going by my imagination and interpretation (based on ‘80s movies), it passed with flying colors. Games like Space Invaders had gigantic lines, so I ended up playing many games I had never heard of. I, did, however, get to play the recreation of a really old pinball table called King of Diamonds, which is far less exciting than it sounds once you consider how primitive some old tables really are. It was certainly a novelty, though.

After losing track of the three people I came in with, I went back to the Kid Icarus tournament to see Neal becoming a finalist despite not having use of the Circle Pad Pro to accommodate his left-handedness. My last hour (until 8, basically) was spent there, scanning through StreetPasses and general hanging with Neal and Scott.

StreetPassing was one of the craziest things from the whole day. As one of the people checking the least, I still ended up getting 150 StreetPasses (and all of the panel puzzle completions to go along with it), 100 Kid Icarus gems, tons of Formees, and general stuff in Nintendogs and 3D Land. After meeting my sister on the system over 50 times and meeting only about 10 people otherwise (I specifically remember going to a Boston Red Sox game where not one person was met), I was blown away that this many people even owned 3DS systems. After a while though, I really started to question the fun part of what I was doing—cycling through my plaza and Find Me II for what? Hats? At least Kid Icarus had the weapon gems, leading to me getting a nasty Phosphora Bow once I earned up enough hearts. Few others shared my stance to any extent, which I suppose provides something to be glad about.

At the end of the day, I went home to get dinner from Boston Market and reflect. As I look at my writing, I realize how many memories I have here that will last for a really long time. Hey, look! In this paragraph, I went to a press appointment for the first time! Hey look! In these paragraphs, I make a bunch of friends and meet an icon of mine responsible for the No More Heroes franchise! PAX East was a turning point for me as a fan of video games, where I felt like I truly went from video game fan to video game fan/media person, and to be honest, it's a great feeling. I'm hoping this is the beginning and not the end of my participation in events like this, and that one of the fondest days I've had in years can only be the first of many.


487
TalkBack / Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Review
« on: April 10, 2012, 08:57:51 PM »
I've been inspired to do some Google imaging to see if I was out of line saying that.

I'm pretty sure I'm pretty right about this one. Look at some Sin and Punishment character models and change the body proportions to match Xenoblade. I could totally believe that these came from the same game.

And, since I'm going through NG+, I was asking myself whether these models (and especially those damn cliff sides) would have been impressive on N64. I don't think you need to ask me what conclusion I came to.

488
TalkBack / Re: Fave Five... Games to Play on the Toilet
« on: April 09, 2012, 10:21:27 PM »
That's disgusting and respectable.

489
TalkBack / Classic Sonic Director Leaves Namco Bandai, Joins Nintendo Subsidiary
« on: April 09, 2012, 05:45:50 AM »

The designer was also known for design on three of the four Uncharted games.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/29750

Hirokazu Yasuhara has assumed a new role at Nintendo Software Technology (NST) after leaving Namco Bandai one month ago, as reported by Yasuhara's LinkedIn profile.

As Yasuhara has begun working for NST recently, no word currently exists on what exactly he is working on. NST is known for games like Wave Race: Blue Storm, Metroid Prime Hunters, the Mario vs. Donkey Kong franchise, as well as several DSiware titles (like Aura-Aura Climber).

Yasuhara is originally well-known as director of many of the original Sonic the Hedgehog titles as well as a major designer for Sega and Namco Bandai. More recently, he was known for design on the main series of Uncharted games along with 2010's Pac-Man Party.


490
TalkBack / Fave Five... Games to Play on the Toilet
« on: April 06, 2012, 01:54:42 PM »

Alex conducts a serious discussion about playing video games while using the bathroom.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/29519

Ah, the bathroom. To some, a place that's always business, all the time. For some like me, however, it is a sanctuary of comfort and relaxation. Naturally, all my handheld gaming systems have been broken in by this one small room at one time or another. These five games are those which turn 10 minute breaks into two hour lounging sessions, the kind that make your parents question just what exactly their child is doing in that restroom.

5. Tetris:

Whenever this game turned on, it's like the entire concept of time decided not to exist anymore. Every skill level was like its own game, and every music track felt like its own adventure. The thing is, I don't even love this game. I think it's really good, but its inclusion on the list is due more to how the level of focus this game demands causes you to forget about bodily functions and focus on the game until faint knocks are heard on the door 45 minutes later.

4. WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!: 

I've beaten the entire GBA game in one bathroom sitting. That's all you need to know.

3. Animal Crossing: Wild World:

This game is not well-equipped for bathroom breaks; its place on the list is simply a result of my refusal to stop playing when I needed to go. Actually, the game would be terribly inconvenient if it weren't for sleep mode on the DS. The great thing about this game is how free-form it is. Nothing you do on any day, outside of the turnip market business and holiday activities, actually needs that much attention, and most tasks can be simply picked up and dropped on a whim. The only "issue" is that bringing this game into the bathroom will typically result in you sleeping in a place other than your bed that night. Animal Crossing is just that good.

2. Pokémon Franchise:

There's a certain charm to playing the original Pokémon games that Black and White just can't match, but I decided to include every main series Pokémon game for this entry. These games are so damn addicting—one bathroom session started at Viridian Forest and ended up at the far end of Rock Tunnel, three badges later. Whether it's hunting for Enteis or raising a pathetic Swinub into a tank of a Mamoswine, the level of focus and comfort the bathroom gives you makes grinding an absolute breeze. The thing is, I never actually planned on playing the game in the bathroom. It's just that, once you start getting into a five-hour Pokémon marathon, nature's calling will not keep you from becoming the very best. The sanctuary of using the bathroom caused this game to be played even when I didn't have to go, because even if your mom said bed time is eight o'clock, a closed toilet seat and a locked door would let you play as long as you wanted.

1. Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3

I know, I know. I thought I would have had Pokémon in first place too. But I just couldn't do it. Pokémon may be a laid back RPG, have saving everywhere, and be my favorite franchise of all time, but I just couldn't do it. Do you know why? This game is so damn perfect for bathroom play. Levels are two to four minutes apiece, they are perfectly varied, they have a large difficulty spread, and it's easy to play and be aware of all your surroundings at the same time. Want to be in and out in fifteen minutes? Bring your old SP and run through the first world to keep busy. Want to actually progress through the game, use the bathroom, and kill two birds with one stone? You can do it. Just make sure you know exactly what you're getting into. The first few levels could act as six minutes of good ol' spacing out time, while one of those damned scrolling tank levels in the eighth world can take up an entire 20 minute session. It's just perfect.


491
TalkBack / Nintendo Bringing 3DS to PAX East, Hosting Kid Icarus Events
« on: April 04, 2012, 02:06:56 PM »

Fans can get in on a Kid Icarus: Uprising Together Nearby tournament as well as an AR scavenger hunt.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/29723

Nintendo 3DS will be featured at PAX East in the form of Kid Icarus: Uprising events and demos for new and upcoming games.

On Friday, April 6, in the Handheld Lounge, Nintendo will be hosting a Kid Icarus multiplayer tournament between 6 and 9 p.m. Players can bring their own 3DS and Kid Icarus game card and have access to use almost any weapon or power previously obtained in the game. In addition, attendees can participate in a scavenger hunt for select Kid Icarus AR Cards.

At the convention, playable demos for upcoming titles Mario Tennis Open and Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir will be available for play, as well as demos for Kid Icarus: Uprising and Mario Kart 7. On the eShop front, Ketzal's Corridors, Dillon's Rolling Western, Pushmo, and Sakurai Samurai: The Art of the Sword will all be playable.

PAX East runs from April 6 into April 8.


492
TalkBack / Re: The Official Nintendo World Report PAX East 2012 Guide
« on: April 04, 2012, 01:36:31 PM »
This cool cat will be there Friday.

493
TalkBack / Xenoblade Chronicles Review
« on: April 04, 2012, 03:11:27 AM »

I didn't expect to give such a high score to a game I originally knew so little about. Then again, I didn't expect to play one of the best RPGs of the last ten years, either.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/29714

Xenoblade Chronicles arrives this month in North America after the year-long Operation Rainfall campaign to bring it stateside and nearly two years since its Japanese release. A measurable few anticipate the game as one of the best Japanese RPGs in years. To many, though, it may be just another JRPG, receiving the same indifference given to many turn-based games with low print runs, confusing names, and often even more confusing gameplay. One issue many have with Japanese RPGs is that many aren't necessarily accessible to the average person unless the player familiarizes themselves with the (usually) complex lore and the often-complicated battle systems from the get-go. I'm not so sure I agree with this, but it's certainly an opinion I've heard. Every so often, however, a JRPG comes around that meets the standards of the established fanbase while remaining deep, accessible, and fun to a far more general audience. Chrono Trigger, Mother 3, and Pokémon are great examples of this, and as of this review, I can safely say that Xenoblade Chronicles can now be considered one as well.

With that said, as a JRPG, Xenoblade breaks many of the turn-based expectations for combat almost immediately. Instead of locking players in a screen of menus and static enemies patiently waiting for their turn to attack, Xenoblade elects to grant full movement during combat. Players use moves (called arts) at certain times in certain locations around the enemy. For instance, the main character uses a move called "Back Slash" that grants double damage to the sword strike if the character is positioned behind the enemy. It's incredibly engaging, bringing a Zelda-like strategy to what could otherwise be a simple battle of heal spamming and opponent beat down. Of course, the combat system is quite deep and complex, featuring a unique skill system that allows characters to inherit the traits of other characters once the relationship between them is strong enough, and a myriad of battle conditions and situations to be aware of. This complexity could be an instant turn-off to some, but Xenoblade handles it in a non-invasive way. While the game rewards you for learning all the intricacies of combat, taking a more simple, action game-like approach doesn't make for a cripplingly complex experience. (I do promise, though, that by the end you will likely be utilizing every combat approach the game offers, as an easily accessible tutorial menu can make the most daunting parts of the game become a new fresh way to play).

The story of Xenoblade surrounds a boy named Shulk, who discovers he is able to wield an ancient weapon called the Monado that allows him to see into the future, and follows him as he uses this weapon to take on the Mechon, an army of mechanical invaders. Or, at least, that's all the back of the box will tell you. In reality, the game ventures much deeper, wading into issues of religion, gods, ancient races, genocide, and vengeance. As soon as I thought I understood the big picture, another mind-blowing piece of the puzzle added itself to the story. Only in the game's final hours does the plot coalesce, and reaching that apex left me with a satisfying sense of the journey. The game remains coherent throughout (though it takes a few convoluted detours toward the end), showcasing characters with interesting stories, motives, and dimensions, and a plot line worth investing in regardless of what style of RPG (or game in general) you like to play. During each play session, I consistently played for an hour longer than planned, not for exploration or combat, but out of a general desire to see what would happen next.

The game world is absolutely massive, separated into areas with plenty of potential for exploration outside of the main story. The world has an organic quality, with animals, monsters, towns, fields, oceans, mountains, and far more to explore and interact with. Although maybe not quite as large as Skyrim, the world of Xenoblade shares a similar concept—if you see a location, you can likely travel to it. The game also sports a wonderful fast-travel system. You can travel to any checkpoint that you've visited on a whim (so long as a battle isn't being conducted at the time), making some last-minute upgrades before a particularly challenging boss an absolute breeze.

The boss fights in Xenoblade are likely my favorite part of the entire experience. As with Zelda games, the bosses in Xenoblade are structured somewhat like puzzles, forcing the player to discover an optimal technique for facing them, as doing otherwise will usually result in immediate annihilation. For this reason, many of these bosses are quite difficult and require multiple tries to gain a general understanding of what you're actually supposed to be doing. With that said,the bosses are fair, and all of the challenge in the game feels genuine, though traditional RPG grinding may need to occur to beat some of these, especially if you rush through the main story and do minimal side quests.

A common statement about Xenoblade is how the game is quite beautiful, and pushes the Wii to its limits. While I wish it were true, I cannot honestly say the same. Graphically, the game is inconsistent. At best, some grassy fields and other landscapes do look great. At worst, some character models can look like they came out of a Nintendo 64 game, and at least one-third of the game’s textures are fairly unattractive. Although it feels somewhat nitpicky in relation to the fantastic package this game is otherwise, I felt it worth bringing up. I mean, even the beautiful parts of the game have a jagged look, a fact that somewhat takes away from the experience. Sound fares much better in Xenoblade, with high-quality voice acting and a soundtrack with enough memorable songs to make me consider an album purchase at some point in the near future.

When all was said and done, Xenoblade took about 60 hours to complete, with only a few hours of side quests and exploring done underneath the story. If I just ran through the story, I bet I could knock that down to slightly under 50, but if I played every single side quest, beat every single secret powerful enemy, collected every piece of armor and weaponry I wanted, and did everything this game has to offer, I could probably expect over 100 hours of gameplay. Despite a few minor gripes, I have to say that I really treasured the overall experience. I would go further than saying this game is really good, however, and go as far as to say that Xenoblade is great. Not in a "really good" way, either. This game is great as in "unusual or considerable in degree". Xenoblade Chronicles is considerable in the production value it took to make something of this scope; Xenoblade Chronicles is considerable for telling a story with more layers than one can count while retaining a level of accessibility for people of any walk of life; Xenoblade Chronicles is considerable for having an active combat system more engaging than anything I have seen in years. Although, with all things considered, Xenoblade Chronicles is really good, too.


494
Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 28: From Space
« on: March 31, 2012, 10:54:14 PM »
How much time do you spend on these...masterpieces?

495
Podcast Discussion / Episode 28: From Space
« on: March 31, 2012, 04:13:51 AM »

A re-imagining of your favorite podcast! 

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/connectivity/29692

This episode of Connectivity is really for the fans... we just changed a few things for a new, fresh take, which I'm sure will be universally loved and praised. 

First off, there's news. You have all the familiar Nintendo-centric stories, the inane tangents, and the wonderful listener mail, but we've gone ahead and changed the origin of the cast just a bit. In this episode, Neal is a love 'em-or-hate 'em millionaire playboy who is more concerned with ladies and cocaine than running his father's company, Nintendo World Report. He is joined by Patrick, the young pilot itching for his first real glimpse of action, Scott, the reserved priest-in-training who can't stay on the straight and narrow, and Zach, the gang's talking dinosaur sidekick.

In the second segment, Alex wakes up from a twenty year coma to discover that the passage of time can't erode the most important thing in his life: love. He sits down with Neal and Patrick to talk about Kid Icarus Uprising's substantial multiplayer offerings. 

Be sure to stick around as the credits roll for a secret segment afterward about Journey, the recent Playstation Network release. Mike, a gun for hire with nothing to lose and everything to gain, joins Zach to break down the brief yet wondrous game.

Pretty good stuff, right? You guys are going to love the changes, I swear. You can click here to send us listener mail, full of rave reviews for the new spin on the podcast. You should also rate and review us on iTunes. Oh, and don't forget, our PAX East panel is next week.

I love being a Connectable!


496
TalkBack / UnchainBlades ReXX Being Localized as Unchained Blades
« on: March 24, 2012, 10:07:11 PM »

Xseed will be bringing this dungeon crawler to western 3DS owners.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/29655

UnchainBlades ReXX will be given a western release as Unchained Blades, to be published by Xseed on the Nintendo 3DS.

The existence was initially hinted on the publisher's Twitter account, offering photos of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, a single blade of grass, and a scene from the movie Ghost (in which the theme song Unchained Melody plays). Although the game has not yet been formally announced by Xseed themselves, the table of contents in the April issue of Nintendo Power confirmed the release. UnchainBlades was originally a retail release in Japan, but the game's release format is listed as downloadable.

Unchained Blades is a turn-based dungeon RPG featuring a cast of characters designed by popular Japanese illustrators. The game's world is populated by monsters who have a human form before they mature, and the main character, Fang, once a powerful dragon emperor, is cursed into a human form. "Unchained" refers to a system where you can convince monsters to fight with you in synchronized attacks. As of right now, there is no word regarding any localization of the PSP version.


497
TalkBack / Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion 3DS Game Announced
« on: March 24, 2012, 07:26:39 AM »

Not one, but two Epic Mickey games will be hitting stores this year.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/29649

Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion has been officially announced for 3DS in issue 277 of Nintendo Power.

Officially, only Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two had been revealed until now, but the 3DS version will be joining it as a completely new game. Developed by Dreamrift (who worked on Monster Tale previously), the title is known to be completely different from the Wii game, but little else will be revealed until the actual issue hits shelves.


498
TalkBack / Super Mario 3D Land DLC - Part 1
« on: March 23, 2012, 10:18:09 PM »

Alex utilizes his third grade artistic abilities to present a level pack based on the other weirdest Mario game.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/dreamgame/29554

This post is going to be a bit of a trial run for the return of a series called Dream Game, where I (or anyone else) will design a concept for anything, from a Nintendo character, to a console, to a game, to something as simple as DLC. We lay out the game in text, and illustrate it in childlike MS Paint/crayon drawings. Remember: these only require imagination, not practicality!

This particular entry is inspired by the news that the Mario series could receive downloadable content on the 3DS. With this in mind, I thought of all of the possibilities that would be complete fan-service—and completely out of the question for Nintendo to actually consider. The one I’m showing today will be the first of two thoughts I deemed well-constructed enough to actually publish.

As some of you know, Super Mario 3D Land plays like a cross between Super Mario Bros. 3 and the 3D Mario titles. For the sake of rebelling against the established formula, I decided to take another Mario game, known for changing the rules, and completely flip it into the guidelines of the title. The specific game I am thinking of is the one that isn’t technically a Mario game: Super Mario Bros. 2, a.k.a. Doki Doki Panic.

To create such standalone content, I decided the only way to do it would be to add a tight level pack within one world, featuring bonus items and such to carry into the rest of the game. I chose to base this structure on the Mass Effect 2 DLC, entries in which consisted about two or three hours of content and released for about seven dollars. Nintendo wouldn’t price something at seven, so let's go with five dollars.

The next issue comes in the form of what to include in these levels, how to carry out potential bosses, and how to add in new features. I've opted for a rundown of each level, as well as things appearing in them.

Characters: It’s Super Mario Bros. 2! We already have Mario and Luigi, but Peach and Toad are somehow absent. I would add the two characters in lieu of some forced power-up. Peach could have her brief floating powers, and Toad could have extra strength—maybe to kill enemies in a jump normally requiring a ground pound—or his trademark strength when carrying…

Vegetables: Of course, these would need to be limited to the five (that’s right, five) levels contained in the level pack. Perhaps pressing Y over the vegetable picks it up, and pressing Y again throws it at an enemy. The straight throw would give a projectile to a basic Mario, and maybe throwing the vegetable (which would need to go further than all other projectiles) could solve puzzles, like getting certain star coins.

POW Blocks: Doable, but caution would need to be taken, as the ability to see more on screen sets up a potential problem regarding the item becoming overpowered. I suggest nerfing it a little to account for a small shockwave affecting everything within several feet (or what I imagine to be several feet in the game).

Levels/Bosses:

D1-1: A fall out of the sky onto a hilled area would signify the beginning of the first level. Climbing down the hill would introduce Shy Guys (especially the big ones), as well as other enemies, like Ninjis. Moving up a vine (the leaves would likely act as platforms) would reveal a hill with a door leading to the dark negative world from the game. Continuing on, players would move through the well-known log jumping section to get past a waterfall. Further platforming would lead to players kicking a bomb into bricks to reveal the boss, which would be, of course…

Boss: Birdo! Fireballs or well-timed Tanooki swipes could do the job, but if you really wanted to, you could jump on the eggs hurled (on the 3D plane) and throw three back at Birdo to defeat him/her and climb into the Hawkmouth.

D1-2: Pokeys and snake vases would be in this desert level, of course, but the level would be somewhat standard, with sinking quicksand sections and animal skeletons, causing the level to resemble something out of Mario 64.

D1-3: A cave level with ground bombs, spitting Shy Guys, etc. Early in the level, players find a vase just wide enough for one of the four characters to slip into. At the bottom of the vase is the key needed to get through a door… but with three masks mysteriously behind it. Taking the key to the door causes the masks to swoop in from every direction (now actually possible because of 3D design), trying to kill the character and take the key back. Eventually (s)he puts the key into the door to lead our hero into an encounter with…

Boss 2: Mouser. The fight takes place in a metallic chamber not unlike Boom Boom’s from Super Mario Bros. 3. Since the plane is in 3D, Mouser is no longer on a higher plane, and more bombs get thrown in every single direction. Again, three hits takes him down.

D1-4: This ice level would incorporate hectic slipping and sliding while surviving the enemies dropping from the sky, as well as icy platforming over water while whales' blowholes go off. Dropping a red potion and entering the negative world near a certain vase warps to the final level (as a call back to the original).

D1-5: The final level starts with sky platforming, as balls of electricity swarm around while the character ascends. When the top is finally reached, there will be some cloud platforming leading to a castle level with plenty of spikes and challenges. After one more vase is entered, the player walks right into an encounter with...

Boss 2.5: Red Birdo. More of the same, but with faster eggs and ruthless AI. Beating it leads to a Hawkmouth, which sends the player to fight…

Boss 3: Wart! The fight is in a similar room on a 3D plane, and only throwing vegetables at Wart seven times stops him. Just like the last game, Wart attacks using bubbles.

Of course, defeating him leads into Mario dreaming about their victory over the world, and as such, the content is complete.

My imagination makes the levels a bit longer than the regular levels (between five and six minutes apiece instead of two minutes), and replay value/bosses/secrets would give the game another hour or so of content. On top of that, Peach and Toad act as slight replay boosters of the original levels, but I do warn you, playing the final level of the main game as Peach will lead to some horrifying implications.

There’s part one. My next post will dive into a level pack of Mario’s minor roles coming back to haunt him. Stay tuned!


499
TalkBack / 'Pokémon Tretta' Trademarked by Nintendo
« on: March 22, 2012, 11:33:42 PM »

...and no one has any idea what it means.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/29642

The name "Pokémon Tretta" has been trademarked by Nintendo, GameFreak, and Creatures.

The trademark itself (number T2012-14319) has not been given meaning yet, though a logo was included with the trademark. In Japan, the word "tretta" usually refers to something bookshelf or bicycle related, but with an English logo being given alongside a Japanese one, whatever the trademark refers to will likely come to the west in some form.


500
TalkBack / Release Date Revealed for Colors! 3D
« on: March 21, 2012, 09:28:11 PM »

The sequel to a classic homebrew application will be hitting digital shelves early next month.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/29600

Colors! 3D will be released onto the North American eShop on April 5, as reported by Jens Andersson, founder of the series.

The release date was tweeted along with confirmation that the game had passed Nintendo's submission process and is ready for release. Colors! 3D is the follow up to Colors!, a DS homebrew application that allowed players to create simple paintings. Colors! for the DS was originally released in June 2007.


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