Messages

176

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 236: Trauma Hunter

« on: March 27, 2011, 07:39:53 PM »

I'm downloading this now so I can listen while walking around my block.  Why am I walking around my block at 8pm on a Sunday?  Because a 3DS in sleep mode will be silently counting my steps as I do.  I'm a fool for unnecessary pedometers!

177

TalkBack / Re: OK Go Music Video Headed to 3DS via System Update

« on: March 24, 2011, 11:57:18 AM »

Whoa.  Note this, from the bottom of the article on Nintendo.com about the system update/music video:

"Please note that the 'White Knuckles' music video is provided for a limited time and may be deleted from your system with subsequent updates"  (emphasis mine)

Not sure how I feel about this.

178

TalkBack / Re: OK Go Music Video Headed to 3DS via System Update

« on: March 24, 2011, 11:35:42 AM »

Ha.  This is so weird.  A System Update... before the system even launches?  Strangely, I'm excited to see what these short videos look like on the 3DS.  If they can keep a consistent stream of mini-content like this coming in, I think it's a very cool little bonus feature that many aren't considering when they evaluate the new handheld.
Although I thought the SpotPass was supposed to make updates like this easier, even automatic?  Or will some be automatic, while others you'll need to manually go in and click "Update"?  I'm thinking less about me, and more about the inevitable buyers of 3DS who can't program their DVR.  Very interested to see what happens in the first few weeks/months after launch...

179

TalkBack / Re: Bonk's Adventure

« on: March 22, 2011, 11:34:47 AM »

Pedro, I want your friends.
--
I had a TG-16 growing up, so Bonk's been near and dear to me for some time.  Strangely, I just replayed the game a couple of days ago (my old systems are hooked up to a second TV) and nearly beat it in one sitting.  As you say: It's a simple yet somehow quite endearing experience.  I'd forgotten how fun that game is.  Thanks for the reminder.

180

NWR Forums Discord / Re: Please come to the funhouse, we want to talk to you. Thankyou.

« on: March 15, 2011, 01:26:09 PM »

Crimm, thanks for the recommendation.  Or warning?  All she does in AC is walk around and water flowers, and I'm thinking, "hey, there's a game where that's the whole point!"  I worry that if she dives in, she'll be lost to me, forever planting tomatoes and stroking her sheep.  So we'll see. 
Oh, and after watching the live RFN panel, she said she liked you the best.  James Jones gots fans, alright.

181

NWR Forums Discord / Re: Please come to the funhouse, we want to talk to you. Thankyou.

« on: March 15, 2011, 01:13:32 PM »

Found you.
All those at PAX East '11, I salute you.  I volunteered as an Enforcer at the Naga Theatre, so if you saw a panel there, I might have asked you to stay between the red lines, or perhaps you came to the end of the line and I was standing there, holding a white board with "END OF THE LINE" written on it.  Sounds stimulating, I know...  Here ends the worst description of PAX ever.  (In fact, 'twas amazing.  Come to Boston and join us in 2012.)
Other Adventures = Playing my import copy of Jam with the Band on DS.  Working on a piece about our old friend, the Virtual Boy.  Trying to get my girlfriend off her Animal Crossing addiction, only to hook her onto Harvest Moon.  About to eat this last half of a slice of toast with peanut butter, nutella and jam.

182

Podcast Discussion / Re: RFN Live Panel @ PAX East 2011

« on: March 15, 2011, 12:54:53 PM »

Thanks, fellas (and Karlie!) for putting this on, and I hope to see it again next year.  I brought my girlfriend and a buddy (who's a lapsed Nintendo fan now that he has a big screen HDTV and Mass Effect 2/Uncharted 2) but even he wore his vintage Zelda shirt.  I agree that the questioners could've been more interesting...  but I can't complain, since I sat stuck to my chair.  And it was lovely to go up and meet y'all briefly afterward, shake some hands, extend some appreciation.  (I mentioned Killer Instinct to Dr. Metts, who went on to discuss the relative merits of Fulgore vs. Cinder and shouted out a nice "C-C-C-Combo Breaker!").  PAX East needed some Big N love, and I'm glad RFN was there to provide.  Keep preachin' the good word.


Also: NWR_Lindy, was that you playing SEGA CD 'Kriss Kross: Make My Video' in the Classics room?  Well done, sir. 

183

TalkBack / Re: Lilt Line Sales Disappoint

« on: March 15, 2011, 12:30:05 PM »

I was excited about this game.  Then I played the demo...  and actually, I was still pretty excited.  The fluid movement and abstract colors were really quite striking, and I was digging the dub-step music.  And I could see how the later levels would prove quite challenging.  But for some reason, I never downloaded it.  I'd heard it was quite short, and didn't see much replayability. Too bad it didn't sell better, 'cause I think it's an intriguing product that many would like.


Unfortunately, this feels like exactly the problem Iwata is concerned about with the rise of the $0.99 game on App Store.  People get used to paying a buck, and anything above that "feels" expensive, especially for a short, experimental game like this.  If it was a buck, I'm sure I would've bought it. But that's crazy--I pay $3.50 for a coffee and muffin three times a week at Dunkin Donuts and don't even think about it.  It's a slippery slope, and a shame that devs like Different Cloth lose just for trying something different.

184

TalkBack / Re: Radio Free Nintendo @ PAX East: A Live Nintendo Podcast for Grown-Ups... 2!

« on: March 09, 2011, 11:48:42 AM »

Lookin' forward to it.  Started listening to RFN the week before PAX East '10, then overheard Mr. (now Dr.) Metts behind me at the Bit.Trip Runner demo, and recognized him through his voice.  Dulcet tones, I tell ya.  Hope to say hello soon.  Good luck y'all.

185

TalkBack / Re: You Don't Know Jack Review

« on: February 26, 2011, 11:10:06 AM »

Loved this game on PC back in middle/high school.  Oooh, to have friends over again just to eat hostess products, shoot hoops, and play video games.  Damn you, real life.

186

TalkBack / Re: Mario Kart 3DS Confirmed for 2011

« on: February 24, 2011, 12:49:19 PM »

Personally, I had a ton of fun with MK Wii.  I actually felt the steering mechanic worked really well, immersive and fun in that old "lean with your NES controller" way.  And the tricks and wheelies were a significant addition to the boost mechanic, imo.  Combined with all the new tracks and retro favorites and well-implemented online play...  I have no problem at all with how they made MK Wii. 
I think those who believe Nintendo used to go all out/all the time are looking at the past with a severe tint of rose to their glasses.  And I also think people don't give them enough credit for the innovating they've done in the last 4 years, instead focusing on a few remakes or re-hashes they didn't enjoy.  For whatever reason, I'm enjoying the present spate of games way more than I was the past two generations.  But maybe that's more to do with my life circumstances than with actual game quality. 

187

TalkBack / Re: Mario Kart 3DS Confirmed for 2011

« on: February 22, 2011, 06:36:36 PM »

I hope and pray this is true.  But I believe the wording in the press release is not quite confirmation.  It reads, "Other Nintendo 3DS games in the works for 2011 from Nintendo are..."  So it could be in the oven with good intentions, but it's not necessarily coming out.  What's more interesting is this: "...and new installments in the Mario Kart series."  Installments?  Plural?  Is this just pertaining to the numerous games they've just listed off, or might we get a Mario Kart 64 remake AND a fresh new sequel?  That circle pad would work might fine sliding around the curves of Choco Mountain...

188

TalkBack / Re: Vegas Stakes

« on: February 22, 2011, 06:27:18 PM »

I'm surprised and happy to see this game get a special write-up, because I, too, have fond memories of the SNES original.  My brother was six years older than me (still is), and this is one of the last games he still spent a good amount of time on.  Sadly, I sold my copy when the N64 came out, as I was under the Project Reality spell and thought all of my awesome SNES games would be better as cash toward fantastic new titles like Shadow of the Empire and Cruisin' USA.  I'm sorry, Vegas Stakes.  I'm so, so sorry.

189

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 41: Is It Me You're Looking For?

« on: February 21, 2011, 12:18:40 PM »

Lionel Richie 4eva.

190

TalkBack / Re: Madden NFL Football Impressions

« on: February 18, 2011, 06:06:20 PM »

Also: After watching the lifeless touchdown during the embedded gameplay video, I realize what I so desperately want for 3DSware: a new Tecmo Super Bowl.  And screw you, Madden, for never letting me have it with real players ever again. 

191

TalkBack / Re: Madden NFL Football Impressions

« on: February 18, 2011, 06:02:31 PM »

I don't understand how a football game, or any sports game for that matter, can even remotely think about shipping without a basic 2-player option.  Or am I missing something?  Is this really only a 1-player game?  And why haven't people been more miffed about this, again?. 

192

TalkBack / Re: The Final Quest for Mushrooms: The Mario RPG Retrospective

« on: February 17, 2011, 11:44:46 AM »

@KDR
But that's what was so funny about Super Paper Mario...  the sheer audacity to mess with the player.  (Pit of 100 Trials, hmm?) I'd never played the Paper Mario/RPG games before (though this feature is making me want to) but the whole 2D/3D flip feature of the Wii game intrigued me.  I ended up liking it a lot...   but it didn't blow me away as I'd hoped.  Still: A very funny, weird, totally Nintendo experience (with new characters!).  People always gripe about how the Big N doesn't have any new IPs anymore, but they populate their franchises with enough bizarre new characters to almost make up for it.  And their humor is not mentioned nearly enough.  Games take themselves too seriously.  Nintendo still realizes this should be a light-hearted experience.  Maybe that is a central shift between the Japanese and American markets, though...  I'm not sure.

193

TalkBack / Re: Iwata: 3DS Could Bring 3D Movies into the Home

« on: January 23, 2011, 01:05:08 PM »

If you haven't read the entire interview, you really should.  Those guys are wack-jobs, and I mean that in the best possible way.
About not saying too much when describing your product -- Itoi:  "You just have to convey that sensation that 'It really works!'—rather than a scientific explanation about how two lines of sight align to create a 3D image. (clapping hands together) When you clap your hands together like this and ponder which hand made the sound, you do it because you enjoy the thought process and that mysterious feeling you get from it, not because you're looking for a scientific explanation."

194

TalkBack / Re: 3DS Online Game Store, Other Features to Miss Launch?

« on: January 20, 2011, 11:25:55 AM »

I'm not too concerned about this.  Seems odd, sure; but given its ability to upgrade automatically (through the magic of "SpotPass"TM!) I imagine one morning we'll all wake up, open the 3DS, and see a notice saying, "The eShop is open for business!"  See, Nintendo isn't keeping features from us.  They're merely dosing them out in increments, so as to add to our future enjoyment. 
And yes, I've drunk the kool-aid. 

195

TalkBack / Re: Nintendo 3DS Preview Event Liveblog

« on: January 19, 2011, 05:59:52 PM »

Shawn the Sheep!?

196

TalkBack / Re: 3DS North American Price, Date, Colors Set

« on: January 19, 2011, 11:14:04 AM »

Whoa, whoa.....   "Cosmic" Black??
(scans press release)
Oh, whew!  It's Cosmo Black.  Good.  Was worried there for a sec.
(thinks about it for another sec)
Wait.   Cosmo?

197

TalkBack / Re: Nintendo 3DS Preview Day: What We Expect

« on: January 18, 2011, 11:10:07 AM »

Thank you, Zach, for tempering my expectations.  Now I can be excited again when something (anything) cool comes out of tomorrow's bonanza. 

198

TalkBack / Re: Kingdom Hearts 3D Gets Clever Subtitle

« on: January 18, 2011, 11:01:06 AM »

A-ha!  3 Ds.  I get it.
Love the Japanese and the ease with which they entertain themselves...

199

TalkBack / Re: 3DS Metroid Announcement Coming?

« on: January 17, 2011, 10:54:51 AM »

EDIT: Oh right, I see this article was categorized as "Rumor."  I feel better now. 

200

TalkBack / Re: 3DS Metroid Announcement Coming?

« on: January 17, 2011, 10:53:32 AM »

After reading more of the Twitter back-and-forth leading up to this remark, I'm a bit skeptical of what this guy knows. Some follower of his mentioned how he wanted Ocarina of Time and Nintendogs + Cats at launch, and Ross replies, "Have they all been announced?" Hmm.  Then says, "A few other faves coming as well -- plus a few unexpected revivals!"  I bet he's talking about Kid Icarus and/or Pilotwings, and thinks the gaming public isn't aware of these even if they are.  The Metroid comment is certainly enticing, but I'm just not sure how much stock we can put in this dude's off-handed Tweet.  A bit unsettling, actually, that tweets are becoming the source for "News" items on websites.