Messages

14601

Nintendo Gaming / Tingle in OoT??

« on: February 19, 2003, 01:06:58 PM »

I don't know about any of you guys but when I first saw Tingle in Majora's Mask I sure didn't think to myself "Damn this guy rules.  He should be in EVERY Zelda game."  So why is he is in every Zelda game made since then?  Is there some sort of huge Tingle fanbase in Japan that I'm unaware of?

Anyway considering NOA's pathetic attempt to explain the timeline of Zelda on Zelda.com it doesn't surprise me to hear they got something as simple as Tingle's origin messed up.  This the company that once said that Mario & Luigi were called the Mario Bros because their full names were Luigi Mario and Mario Mario.  Of course I wouldn't have known of the error if you didn't tell me considering that Nintendo of Canada was so nice to NOT INCLUDE the Wind Waker preview manual with the bonus disc.

14602

Nintendo Gaming / How are you supposed to rate a port of an old game?

« on: February 19, 2003, 07:42:32 AM »

I think when rating a port there are a lot of factors to take into consideration.

1. How well has the game held up over time?  If the game is something like PSO you could probably rate it as if it's a new game because aside from the graphics it's on par with current games.  If the Dreamcast was still being supported it would be current game.  Something like RE2 or Ocarina of Time is different because they come from previous generations so a lot more elements of their design is dated.

2. How much of a value is it to buy the port?  Ocarina of Time is a f*cking free so it's rating is going to be higher.  The Gamecube version is CHEAPER than used copies of the N64 version.  RE2 & 3 can be bought used on the Dreamcast for like $10.  You could probably buy a Dreamcast and both those games for the price of buying both of them on Gamecube.  Sonic Mega Collection is a great deal because you get 7 games.  If they sold Sonic the Hedgehog by itself on the Gamecube it would get incredibly low scores.

3. How accessible is the old version/how many people have likely played the old version?  Skies of Arcadia Legends is a worthwhile port because not that many people played it on the Dreamcast.  Super Mario World is not quite as good of a port because everybody has played that game.  A Link to the Past is a good port because finding used SNES copies of it can be pretty difficult and sometimes expensive.  Super Mario Advance isn't so hot because used copies of Super Mario Bros 2 and Super Mario All Stars are quite easy to find cheap.

4. What new stuff has been added for those who have played it already?  The Zelda bonus disc wouldn't be so great if it didn't come with the Master Quest for people who have played the original version to death.  Stuff like adding the Four Swords to A Link to the Past entices people who own the SNES version to buy the game just for the new content.  Skies of Arcadia Legends adds new content to make the game look more up-to-date.  Resident Evil was completely redone so that it's like a brand new game.  RE2 & 3 don't add any new content and are considered as weaker ports.

So if you weigh each of these four categories equally RE 2 & 3 get a f*cking ZERO in three of those categories as they have no new content and can be easily found on other consoles for a cheaper price. That means at most they can only get 25/100.  That's why they get such low scores.

According to GameRankings the Gamecube version of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time has an average score of 88% which is fantastic for a game that aside from some remixed dungeons is identicle to the N64 version.

14603

Nintendo Gaming / January Console/Game Sales

« on: February 19, 2003, 07:18:25 AM »

"u know what i think the problem is. nintendo has too mnay good exclusives."

I seriously doubt that having the best games is going to hurt sales.  I attribute it entirely to the fact that Microsoft has done absolutely everything right with the Xbox.  They've marketed it perfectly, ensured a steady release schedule, grabbed a few major games to keep hardcore fans happy and released a lot of "safe" genre games to please the casual gamers.  They've also made Xbox Live a major selling point for their console which makes the Gamecube's "we have only one online game" policy look really stupid and inferior.  They also had that two free game deal around Christmas.

Nintendo has made a better console with better games but they don't market the system very well, are tight asses with third parties, and while they have many really great games they completely ignore certain genres which leaves a lot of holes in the Gamecube's library.  They also have all sorts of weird consumer unfriendly ways of doing everything (no demo discs, $30 discounted titles instead of $20).  Plus they offered no incentive for people to buy Cubes last Christmas.  They have the free game thing now but they should have had it then.

Microsoft has put 110% into the Xbox while Nintendo has totally half-assed it.  That's why the Gamecube is in last place.

14604

General Chat / when I attack, ver. 1

« on: February 19, 2003, 07:06:17 AM »

Personally I think the ability to check out reviews and make sure that you only buy decent games is much better than the "ability" to be stuck with mediocre ones.  If you can't stand a game you SHOULD return it.  In theory the ability for gamers to read reviews ahead of time is an incentive for developers to make better games (though this is just a theory as stupid gamers who do no research encourage the production of sh!tty games and ruin it for the rest of us.)  If everyone read reviews and did some research ahead of time game quality would have to improve or mediocre developers would go broke.  Therefore I'm all for the increased availability of videogame related information.

14605

Nintendo Gaming / Incoming SEGA GCN announcement!

« on: February 18, 2003, 11:08:14 AM »

"I guess I realize that the traditional d-pad is becoming 'passe' with the death of 2-D, but it still works so well in many newer games. Even the PS2 has the d-pad in the prime position on the controller."

Well the PS2 also has only two controller ports so in terms of hardware it's not a good indication of what the future of videogames holds.  The control stick SHOULD be in the prime position.  Sony just seems to have a fear of changing their original controller design from 1995 (which was considered pretty poor even then).

I think the whole fighting game controller issue wouldn't exist if Sony wasn't the market leader.  Nintendo and Microsoft both made the control stick the main focus of their controllers and they both push analog support.  3D games with D-pad controls are ridiculously out-of-date and it makes no sense to make them.  If Gamecube or Xbox was the top system most games would be designed with that console in mind and therefore most games would be designed with the control stick in mind.  Today's controllers shouldn't be designed for fighting games, fighting games should be designed for today's controllers.  Analog is the future and every 3D fighting game should have analog controls.  If Sony wasn't living in the past and encouraging developers to stick with an out-of-date standard all 3D fighting games would have analog controls.  If Sony loses the top spot or the PS3 controller is control stick centric and guarentee this issue will die.

Though I'll admit that Nintendo is a little TOO anti-d-pad.  The Gamecube d-pad could easily have been done a lot better and seems to have been intentially made to be uncomfortable in order to persuade developers to use the control stick.  That's taking things a little too far as making the controller control stick centric in the first place is sufficient.

14606

Nintendo Gaming / Reviews for GC games: How much do you depend on them?

« on: February 18, 2003, 06:45:25 AM »

Most of my Gamecube games are first and second party titles and those are consistently good enough that I usually buy them on release day.  Sometimes I get to look at some reviews first sometimes I don't.  I do usually check out reviews afterwards just because I'm curious to see what other people felt about the game.  Third party games I usually check out reviews first as they're not quite as consistently good.  So in those cases I might wait a few days after release to buy them if I have to in order to read some reviews.  A lot of games (unfortunately) don't get released in my area (BC) until a few days after the American release date so I often have time to read reviews beforehand.  For titles that I'm quite sure I'll buy on or close to release I'll usually just check Gamespot and IGN (and PGC if they have one up in time).

There are of course titles that I'm only sort of interested in and I always read reviews ahead of time for those.  In those situations I'll usually check a lot of reviews just to make sure the title is worth owning.  In those cases the average score on GameRankings.com plays a big part in my decision.  Something like Tube Slider for example is a title I'm interested in but I don't know much about the game so I'll check out every review I can when it comes out.

The final score does play a part in my decision but it's usually the content of the review that really helps me decide.  Now if a title gets like a 3/10 I won't even bother to read the review but if it gets like a 7.5 or an 8 I'll read the whole review just in case what the reviewer didn't like I'm willing to overlook.  It's the same thing with a high score like a 9.  Resident Evil got pretty high scores but I didn't buy it because of the controls.  Most reviewers were willing to overlook that issue but I wasn't so I didn't buy it.  I've learned to do that ever since I bought Jet Force Gemini (which got good scores) and realized that the aiming was just too irritating and I couldn't enjoy the game.

There are other factors that play into things.  My birthday is in December so I don't buy many titles that are released late in the year because I can instead ask for them as birthday or Christmas gifts.  In those situations I'll read many reviews because often I'll have a good period of space between the release date and the time I recieve the game as a gift.  In those situations I read the reviews more to hype me up for the game rather than to tell if it's worth buying.  Another factor is that I rarely buy two brand new games in one month so if two games I'm really interested in come out at roughly the same time I'll likely read a lot of reviews for the title I don't buy with the intent on buying a used copy down the road.

One thing worth mentioning is that if I didn't read reviews I never would have even tried Super Smash Bros Melee.  I hated the first game and assumed I wouldn't care for the second but every review I read said it was the best Cube game released yet so I gave in and rented it for a friend's birthday.  I absolutely loved it and it's one of my favourite Gamecube titles.  I never would have given it a chance if I hadn't read reviews beforehand.

14607

General Chat / "24" Discussion

« on: February 17, 2003, 02:01:41 PM »

"If the bomb is set to go off sometime in the next 2 or 3 episodes, that would still be over eight episodes to fill. What will they do? Second nuclear bomb? Jack looking for Kim? How about the third season? The show's writers can't really top a nuclear bomb crisis. Or can they?"

I think they'll have the bomb go off before the show is over and Jack has to TRAVEL BACK IN TIME to stop it thus making up the remaining 8 hours.

Or maybe that won't happen.  It sure would be kind of funny for the show to take such a crazy dive like that.

Last episode smoked ass but I really wonder what the hell is supposed to happen when they supposedly know where the bomb is and are on their way to stop it.  The best solution I can figure is that the bomb is all BS and is just a diversion for something else.

One thing I have to bring up is what ever happened with the CTU bombing?  In the last few episodes CTU seems to be working perfectly fine.  Didn't a f*cking bomb trash the place?  Why the hell is everything so peechy over there all of the sudden?

Remember my rule of 24:  Any sort of cliffhanger from one episode will be resolved within the first five minutes of the next episode.

14608

Nintendo Gaming / Are you satisfied with your Cube at the moment?

« on: February 17, 2003, 01:28:09 PM »

I'm happy with my Cube now though I wasn't so keen on it during the release drought in early 2002.  It really irks me that I paid full price at launch when I could have waited until the price cut as nothing that I would consider "must have" was released before then.  It also would have been nice if I could have got a Platinum Cube.

Still overall there's enough great titles that I'm content.  There are actually a lot of released titles that I really want to play that I haven't had time to play yet.  That sort of thing never happened with the N64.  There could be more RPGs and I wish there wasn't so many crappy third party PS2 ports though.

Oh and the Player's Choice titles should be the same price as the PS2 and Xbox "discounted hits".  The extra ten bucks is bullsh!t.

14609

Nintendo Gaming / F-Zero GC/AC connection

« on: February 17, 2003, 01:23:18 PM »

"such as the ability to build custom tracks in a editor mode on the Gamecube version, then to leave them on the Arcade to be played by other people. Such a thing would be exceedingly cool. If you could mark your name on the custom track file, everyone could know who made it. It would be such an awesome thing to go to the arcade and check what high scores and lap times had been set on your own map."

That is such a cool idea but it's hurt by a few things:

1. Hardly anyone goes to arcades anymore so a lot of the appeal of having other people play your track is lost.  It's really only cool if you're part of a regular arcade crowd and a lot of the regulars know who you are and that that's YOUR track.  Sadly with today's arcades that sort of atmosphere isn't as common.  Some people blame it on consoles catching up to arcades.  I blame it on the fact that every game costs like a buck to play.  A buck used to play four games and now it plays only one.  Gee I can't imagine why no one hangs out at arcades anymore.

2. Where are the tracks stored?  Obviously there's going to be limited space for user tracks so some dumbsh!t could conceivably copy over your track.

It's still a really cool idea it just needs some tweaks.  What would work better is if F-Zero was online and people could post tracks up on a website for people to download.  THAT would kick ass.  They could even make the Arcade machines be able to download content.

In reality the best Nintendo and Sega would probably do would be to allow you to play your own tracks on the arcade machine but the track is "lost" once you remove your memory card.

14610

Nintendo Gaming / Hot Deals for Canada...

« on: February 17, 2003, 10:51:06 AM »

"I'm getting tired of their lack of information and slow service."

It's probably better to blame Nintendo of Canada.  Judging by various conversations I've had with store clerks about Nintendo release dates Nintendo of Canada pretty much keeps retailers in the dark about new releases.

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Nintendo Gaming / Nintendo and sonic

« on: February 17, 2003, 09:11:35 AM »

"Just imagine Miyamoto directing it - it would be better than Sonic Team's efforts!"

That's not hard.  Have you played Sonic Adventure 2?  Sonic Team can't even make a decent 3D camera.

"well personally i think sonic is SUPER kiddy now"

I've noticed that too.  In the Genesis days he was considered cool and was targeted more towards teens than children.  Now Sonic is aimed squarely at children.  He's got a more cute and cuddle appearence now.  It's not just Sonic.  I've noticed this with Mega Man and number of other "cartoony" mascot characters.  At some point a lot of these companies desided that their cartoon games were for kids and their realistic games were for adults.  Nintendo (which ironically is given the "kiddy" label) has actually kept Mario for the most part targeted towards everyone (if we ignore that sh!tty Mario Sunshine commercial).

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Nintendo Gaming / Zelda Windwaker Preview in Playboy, horrible error.

« on: February 17, 2003, 09:00:43 AM »

"But after looking through the article I was horrified to see that they spelled Link as Linx."

That's not that bad.  I know people who actually OWN several Zelda games (usually the N64 of GB games) who think that Link's name is Zelda and nothing you can say can make them think otherwise.  Even arguements like "It says his name is Link in the f*cking manual" or "Why would both the hero and the princess have the same name?" don't make them change their mind.

It could have been worse.  They could have called him "Pink".

14613

TalkBack / Extreme...Pool?

« on: February 17, 2003, 08:43:01 AM »

What an odd idea.  Pool just doesn't seem to be the kind of game that fits an "extreme" style.  The average fan of "extreme" games (which I assume is stuff like Midway Sports games) likely isn't going to be interested in something like pool and hardcore pool fans probably are going to want a sim.

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TalkBack / Zelda Bonus Disc Details

« on: February 16, 2003, 02:47:37 PM »

"the Canadian version of the bonus disc DOES NOT have the Wind Waker teaser manual in it. We get the instruction book with both French and English, and nothing more."

THAT SUCKS!  Now in theory it's better that I don't get anything spoiled BUT it sucks that we don't get the whole thing.  There's no logical reason for it aside from Nintendo of Canada being lazy on the French translation (which I hate and feel is completely useless in BC anyway because no one there speaks French exclusively).  It's bad enough that the everything has to look like crap with two languages let alone something being excluded all together.

The worst though was the SSBM manual which was MISSING half of the content.

Oddly enough Nintendo is the only company that does the two languages thing in Canada.  All the third parties just give us the American packaging with a French manual thrown in.

By the way I STILL don't have the bonus disc.  Today's the 16th!  What the hell?

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Nintendo Gaming / Rumour: Chrono Trigger 2 & Chrono Break?

« on: February 14, 2003, 01:45:47 PM »

"Going from 128-bit PS2 to 16-bit GBA is a major change."

Well it's actually a 32-bit GBA but your point is still valid.  I think if this was true it would be other way around with Chrono Break being on Gamecube and a 2D direct sequel to Chrono Trigger on GBA.

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Nintendo Gaming / Rumour: Chrono Trigger 2 & Chrono Break?

« on: February 14, 2003, 01:04:52 PM »

I thought Chrono Break was the name of the PS2 Chrono game.

I would love for this to come true but I logicially don't see any reason for Square to release any Chrono games on the Gamecube unless they want to use the GBA/GC link up.

What's with this Chrono Trigger 2 stuff?  Isn't Chrono Cross Chrono Trigger 2?  Has Capcom ruined this sort of thing for everyone with their bizarre numbering systems (Street Fighter, Resident Evil)?

I can't even find this rumour on newtechnix (though it is in French which I'm not too great with despite being Canadian) and I'm not going to have any faith in it until I see some sort of proof.

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General Chat / Who wants to marry my mom?

« on: February 14, 2003, 12:23:57 PM »

I read the forum topic and thought to myself "okay that guy's getting banned".  Little did I know you were referring to a TV show.

This is such a dumb idea but I thought Survivor was a dumb idea (and still do) so what do I know.

Remember when networks actually made like comedies and stuff?  You know, stuff that intelligent people could watch without feeling their IQ drop as they watch it?

I think reality shows are dumb and I WATCH WRESTLING.  How's THAT for an insult?

14618

Nintendo Gaming / Incoming SEGA GCN announcement!

« on: February 14, 2003, 12:08:16 PM »

I think it will be Sonic Adventure 2 Battle DX.  Yes that's right.   An enhanced Gamecube port of a Gamecube port of a Dreamcast title that for the most part sucked to begin with.

Okay I don't REALLY think that's what'll be announced but knowing Sega it's not too unbelievable.

Who is "some guy on IGN"?  Is he a staff member or just some forum dork?  What sort of stuff was he right about in the past?

14619

TalkBack / Dave Mirra sues Acclaim over BMX XXX

« on: February 14, 2003, 08:54:04 AM »

"Do you never want to see titties in vgs again?"

Not if they look like the ones in BMX XXX.

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TalkBack / GBA SP SOLD OUT!

« on: February 14, 2003, 07:01:59 AM »

How weird is it that a portable that is essentially the same product that everyone bought about two years ago except with new features it should have had in the first place sells completely out while the Gamecube, which isn't all a bunch of 5+ year old ports and argueably has a better lineup of ORIGINAL content, has lukewarm sales.  I guess it just shows that if Nintendo put a fraction of the effort they put in promoting the GBA towards promoting the Gamecube maybe the Cube wouldn't be in last place everywhere but Japan.

14621

Nintendo Gaming / a thing N should do?

« on: February 14, 2003, 06:36:36 AM »

"I don't think that backwards compatabillity would really help Nintendo. Its just simply not Nintendos consoles' style, what have they been screaming since 96? quality not quantity"

Well that arguement doesn't really make any sense when you consider that the GBA is backwards compatible.  Why would Nintendo's "quality over quantity" mantra only apply to the Gamecube?  That whole "quality over quantity" doesn't really mean anything anyway.  It's just something Nintendo's spin doctors made up in 1997 to explain why the N64 had so few games.  If Nintendo REALLY cared about quality over quantity then the GBA library wouldn't be made up mostly of SNES ports and licensed crap.  If Nintendo could make the Gamecube library the size of the PS2's they would.

N64 backwards compatibility wasn't added only because of the difference in media.  If the N64 used mini-discs the Gamecube would have been backwards compatible.

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TalkBack / Dave Mirra sues Acclaim over BMX XXX

« on: February 14, 2003, 06:21:31 AM »

Acclaim hasn't published a game I even consider remotely entertaining since back when they used to publish the home versions of the Mortal Kombat games.  And considering those were just ports of Midway arcade games that doesn't mean sh!t (same situation with NBA Jam which I also liked).  So personally I couldn't care less if this lawsuit bleeds them dry.  We gamers should have sued them years ago for making such crappy games.  One advantage to this is that if this lawsuit puts Acclaim in a bad financial situation they may actually be (get this) forced to make a GOOD game in order to get enough sales to get them out of the red.

Now I just need this sort of thing to happen to THQ and 3DO.

14623

TalkBack / Zelda Bonus Disc Details

« on: February 14, 2003, 06:14:46 AM »

Well I went to the EB in Langley BC last night and they... didn't have it.  They also don't know when they're getting it but will call me when they do because I pre-ordered.  And to add insult to injury their Gamecube kiosk is busted and they're the only store in my area with the ZELDA DEMO.  ARRRGH!  What really sucks is that on Sunday they didn't have the Zelda demo which means in the span of less than a week Nintendo reps brought the new demo in only have some piece of sh!t pull the f*cking controller out at most a few days later.

Interesting note: the Langley EB has completely filled their maximum amount of pre-orders before the promotion has even officially begun.

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TalkBack / SSBM Concert Interview and Contest

« on: February 13, 2003, 01:18:30 PM »

It's only open to US residents.  DAMN IT!  Why doesn't Nintendo.ca EVER have any contests?

So anybody who already has the CD (ie: a Nintendo Power Subscriber) willing to enter the contest on my behalf?  I'll naturally pay for shipping if you win.

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Nintendo Gaming / a thing N should do?

« on: February 13, 2003, 01:01:29 PM »

The N64 (though unfairly) is commonly regarded as a failure in the eyes of most consumers.  Therefore N64 backwards compatibility wouldn't make much of a difference.  It certainly wouldn't have killed the Xbox.  Would the Dreamcast have survived if it could play Saturn games?  Not likely.

Backwards compatibility is more like a bonus but I don't think it plays that big of a part in console sales.  The PS2 and GBA may be backwards compatible but how many people actually put that feature to good use?  Most gamers I meet only care about new games anyway and ignore titles that are even a year old let alone from a previous console generation.

The "GC2" will be backwards compatible with the "GC1" but not the N64.  Besides by then the average person won't care about N64 titles anymore and Nintendo will likely port some of the major titles.