Topic: The September edition of Nintendo Power

[Ian Sane]

Delaying Metroid Prime 3 would kind of suck for the launch.  But then Nintendo did do the whole Zelda thing for a reason.  They're obviously banking that Twilight Princess can tide things over in the meantime and they're probably right considering launch always sells out anyway.

Nintendo does need their own big FPS to compete with Halo but Metroid Prime shouldn't be it.  We've had this argument about what Metroid Prime is a million times so I'm not going to get into it too much.  Regardless of what you think Metroid Prime is about Metroid really isn't a good series to compete directly with Halo.  Part of the fun of an FPS is having multiple guns and such and Metroid just has beams.  If you consider Metroid an FPS, at the very least it isn't a very traditional one.  Neither is Geist.  I don't think a new take on the FPS genre is going to compete worth a damn with Halo.  Sometimes people just want a fairly straightforward genre game done REALLY well.  Nintendo needs something more like Goldeneye and Perfect Dark were on the N64 only with better graphics and online play.  Leave Metroid for the Metroid fans and make some new cool gun nut genre for the FPS fans.  By trying to please both groups with one game Nintendo is just going to make something neither group likes (ie: FPS fans don't like Metroid Prime 2 and Metroid fans hate that game's multiplayer).

[Spak-Spang]

You know what is sad...when I pictured party Nintendo FPS I immediately thought of going the Smash Brothers root mixed with alittle Rayman and the Rabbid Rabbits or FaceBall 2000.

Meaning a lighthearted FPS that has well designed, bright and colorful levels spanning the Nintendo franchises with new original characters, and hidden unlockable characters of classic Nintendo IPs.  

I know it sounds stupid, and I know its a horrible Idea.  But its just funny to think of Link firing magical arrows at Samus, and Mario throwing fireballs out ect.  Perhaps if it was a Nintendo Paintball game that could happen.  

Nintendo themed Paintball levels and eventually you can unlock your favorite Nintendo characters.  It would be silly, but it could be fun.  Specially, when you can hop into a Kart to zoom around the levels.

[Mario]

Who cares about Metroid Prime 3, we have Red Steel for launch.

[KDR_11k]

I dunno, a cross-franchise game would look too similar to Smash Bros. in the eyes of the uninformed gamer. Never mind that an FPS deemphasizes the character you play by keeping him offscreen. I really don't think that's the way to go, Nintendo's character roster has been stagnating lately and they desperately need to invent new settings for their games, especially games in genres Nintendo didn't cover yet.

Metroid isn't just a game that people buy for the singleplayer, the license is too damn limiting. E.g. you must use the morph ball, missile launcher and charge beam or people will complain that it isn't really Metroid. A new setting wouldn't have these limitations. Those limitations also add unnecessary complexity (e.g. how is the morph ball included in gameplay?) whiuch is a definite no-no for a party game. The party game needs to have as little direct complexity as possible (i.e. you don't need to explain for ten minutes to make people understand the basic controls), all complexity needs to be emergent, i.e. composed of simple rules interacting to create a complex situation. Weapons must be distinct (i.e. no counterstrike weapons where you need to be a master just to know the difference between the weapons) and self-explanatory (looking like their function and having pretty simple to use functions). Popular party games also seem to include a decent amount of randomness, that appeals to the beginners and changes the "rules" pretty often and create variety that's obvious to the beginner.

[JonLeung]

I don't really see how a Nintendo-themed FPS would work well, but that's just me.

I could see a Nintendo RPG that spans several Nintendo worlds, though.  Like Kingdom Hearts through the various Disney worlds and Namco x Capcom involving characters from both companies, a Nintendo RPG would be this epic trek that takes you through the Mushroom Kingdom, Hyrule, Dream Land, etc. and meeting and battling their inhabitants, with the heroes of each world eventually joining your party.  And then the boss would be a Dark Matter-possessed Giga Phazon Ganon or something.  Okay, maybe not.  But I'm just saying I think an RPG would be a good genre to attempt mixing Nintendo worlds again in, much more so than an FPS.

(I thought that with the Metroid-esque creatures in Twilight Princess, Samus hopping planets in Corruption and Mario also hopping planets in Mario Galaxy, that it almost looks as if they would converge onto one same final "Phazon Twlight" enemy in space - which is extremely unlikely, but if ever there was a time that their games came even close, that would be now...)

There are rumours (unless someone's confirmed/denied this by now) that Link and Pikachu are in Mario Strikers Charged.  Personally, I'm not sure if it's the greatest idea to shove every Nintendo character into every Mario multiplayer game.  Maybe some in a few, but I don't think everything should become a big crossover fest.

[Caliban]

I completely agree with Ian Sane, leave MP3 alone as it is, and if Nintendo truly wants to capture the hardcore FPS gamers then they should build a complete new franchise solely for the the purpose to compete with Halo and any other online FPS game.

[couchmonkey]

I'll play devil's advocate: KDR explains fairly well why Metroid isn't a great party game.  Why not online, though?

I also think Nintendo ought to come up with a "real" first person shooter instead of relying on Metroid, but I don't see why Metroid shouldn't have multiplayer.  I thought Echoes would be fun if I could find anyone to play against.

[Kairon]

Nintendo should take Konami's Elebits and Valve's Half-Life 2 and make something awesome:

Imagine, an FPS built completely around solving puzzles and tossing enemies around with a gravity gun!

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[Caterkiller]

About Strikers, the silhouellet that people believe are to be Pikachu is obviously Diddy Kong. You can see the hat, and the shape of his mouth.

And as far as crossing universes go, Star Fox and F-Zero have been on the verge of crossing for a while now if they havn't already. Arwings and the F-zero vehicles use G-Diffuser(sp?) systems for their hovering ability. In F-Zero we have James McCloud who is although a human, wears a similiar uniform as the Star Fox Team, and a similiar history.  

Octo Man with his same ship just a different color, in Star Fox for the DS.

Yeah, think about that.  

[Artimus]

The Nintendo FPS makes no sense. The benefits would be nil. You need an FPS to attract the Halo crowd, not Nintendo fans.

[Smoke39]

Not all FPS fans are Halo nuts.

[MANTI5]

I love FPS but didn't care for Halo.

[KDR_11k]

Yes but it wouldn't be aimed at Halo-fans only, it'd be aimed at people looking for an FPS to play with friends. Even though not all of them like Halo, there's a large number that wouldn't want to play in a Nintendoesque world, never mind that most nintendo characters lack ranged attacks that fit into an FPS and using that IP would just drag the game down into a compromise between gameplay and trueness to the source.

[Smoke39]

Yes.  I was just nitpicking the use of "Halo crowd" in place of something like "FPS fans." :b  Acually, "FPS fans" isn't really descriptive enough.  Whatever. DX