Messages

201

Podcast Discussion / Re: RFN RetroActive #16 Poll - Second Chance Edition!

« on: January 17, 2011, 10:38:28 AM »

Wario Land 3, voted.

I'm curious as to what the entire "canon" of Wario Land games is, if that's the right word to use...  how exactly does this one line up with, say, Wario Land on Virtual Boy or Shake It for Wii?

202

TalkBack / Re: 3DS Launch Lineup, Game Pricing Details Emerge

« on: January 08, 2011, 04:00:02 PM »

All of those details become moot once you watch these videos:

http://bit.ly/fKRswx

I like the 2nd and 3rd on the top.

203

TalkBack / Re: Nintendo World Report Awards: 2010

« on: January 05, 2011, 01:49:52 PM »

Picross 3D hasn't been as much of a time-sink for me as I expected it, but there's no denying its effectiveness and charm.  I finally just acquired the "Normal" difficultly, and I feel like I've already gotten two games' worth of play out of it.  My girlfriend is sick of me poking away at the DS screen for 15 minutes before saying, "A-ha!  It's a Cuckoo Clock!" or whatever.
And I'm loving DKCR, but feel the pull towards Kirby more and more...   his (its?) soft edges might just be the ticket after the pounding I've taken from Kong.
As this is veering closer and closer to innuendo a bit too intimate for my tastes, I'll bid y'all adieu. Good work, NWRers.

204

TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Reveals Jump Festa Lineup

« on: December 15, 2010, 12:58:53 PM »

What the heck is a Jump Festa?  A little more What/Where/Why next time, please.

205

TalkBack / Re: WiiWare Contest Gives Hint for Demo Longevity on the Shop Channel

« on: December 10, 2010, 05:48:48 PM »

I wasn't sure how long these demos were up...   but I assumed it was longer than through the end of the year.  Too bad.  Pretty ridiculous to base it on a rating system that is so underused.
Let's hope with the 3DS/Wii2 there's an easier way to rate games, similar to iTunes perhaps, to give the kind of immediate feedback that might help with decisions like this.

206

TalkBack / Re: Level-5 Ships 600,000 Copies of Ni no Kuni

« on: December 09, 2010, 03:14:10 PM »

This is super-awesome.  And I'm not prone to excessive and slightly infantile adjective-use.  Just the sheer audacity of including a huge spell book would be enough...  but the fact that Studio Ghibli's involved pushes this game over the top.  No way it comes over in its ideal, pure form.  But please, give the American audience a chance.  I'll go and watch Howl's Moving Castle if you do, honest.

207

TalkBack / Re: Fluidity Impressions

« on: December 08, 2010, 10:11:57 AM »

I was initially excited when this was announced.  Then I grew skeptical.  Now: I'm back on board.  This looks pretty hot.  Er, I mean wet?  Very curious to see how it all comes together.  1200 seems steep, but it's just perception -- if this was some used DS title for 12 bucks, I'd pick it up without a second thought.  Still wish it was 800, but if it's as meaty as y'all say, I'm game.  Love a unique puzzler.

208

TalkBack / Re: Flip's Twisted World Review

« on: December 06, 2010, 10:17:37 AM »

I love that NWR puts forth the effort to interview and feature smaller developers of games like this...  so it's too bad the finished product wasn't better.  Makes me wonder how certain games are chosen to be focused on editorially--do developers seek you out or the other way around?  Either way, a behind-the-scenes feature can be just as fascinating for a mediocre game, if not more so, since the teams are probably smaller and less restricted in what they say by head honchos of giant companies....  I might have just lost my train of thought.  Anyway: sorry, Flip.

209

TalkBack / Re: RFN: Doin' It Live... for the Kids!

« on: December 03, 2010, 09:47:11 AM »

DONOR!  Right.  Anyway.  If you'll excuse me, I'm off to try and find a used copy of Cubivore...

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TalkBack / Re: RFN: Doin' It Live... for the Kids!

« on: December 03, 2010, 09:41:53 AM »

I'm chipping in the last $12.50 needed to get to $750...   that's awesome you snagged Craig Harris.  Wish I could listen live, but have some out-of-town guests who probably wouldn't be as excited to listen to Nintendo chatter all day, so I'm hoping there's some kind of recording available for donators? Is that a word? 
(...craigway.)
Have an amazing show.

211

TalkBack / Re: WiiWare Demos Back in the US on November 22

« on: November 21, 2010, 02:09:04 PM »

Though part of me understands Kytim89's point (and Nintendo's, for not wanting to allow this to happen), even if 10% of people that try the demo follow through and purchase the full game, that's a huge incentive to offer these.  I'm intrigued by all four of the chosen titles, but would probably only download the Bit.Trip one (having enjoyed the previous games).  So if I try the ThruSpace demo, you're not losing a sale, since that wasn't ever going to happen.  But you're gaining a potential sale, since if I love it I might just buy it.  I know the reasoning behind demos are not some unknown science--this is more just me, thinking out-loud and trying to figure out why a company might think they're not a good idea in the first place.
Anyway.  I'm excited.  Weekly or monthly, I'll take it.

212

Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive #15: The World Ends With You (DS) Discussion

« on: November 14, 2010, 08:03:32 PM »

Off-topic, for which I apologize, but....
Picked up Soul Bubbles after I saw it on the poll, and it is niiiice.  Me likes.  Very soothing.  Thanks for the indirect recommendation.
Now, back to your TWEWY chatter...

213

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 218: Killed in the Restroom, Again

« on: November 14, 2010, 01:50:22 PM »

Funny, how the usual RFN crew nearly laughed Nathan's love of Assault off of the show, but now everyone's coming out and expressing a renewed interest in the game.  Count me among the many who love Star Fox but have never played Assault due to its ignominious reputation (if I used that word correctly).  But I've also almost gotten it used -- so this might be the push I needed.  If Nintendo won't give me a new one to buy, I'll make due with giving my hard-earned bucks to second-hand sellers.  If the Gamecube ever becomes Retroactive territory, it might make for interesting conversation...

214

TalkBack / Re: Wii Music 2 in Development?

« on: November 12, 2010, 05:01:26 PM »

Lambast me if you will, but any kind of sequel or upgrade for Wii Music would have me frothing with excitement.  I'm glad to hear it had good overall sales world-wide.  The kind of critical panning it received from most western sites/magazines made you think the game deserved a condemnation from the pope.  But then I picked it up, almost out of morbid curiosity, and wham--I loved it.  (Not to mention it includes WHAM's hit single...  I'm telling you, an electronic slow jam version of "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go," full of hand-claps and space drums, is a thing of beauty.)
Anyway, I really hope this wasn't some kind of translator error, and Miyamoto and the gang actually do release some kind of iteration or update.  Or at least a new Channel with some kind of patch, allowing better sharing capabilities and new songs, would be groovy, too.

215

TalkBack / Re: Final Fantasy Characters Confirmed for Mario Sports Mix

« on: November 12, 2010, 04:55:32 PM »

Boy, do I not care about this game...
Any kind of crossover is fun, though.  And I agree: Not sure if the FF characters mentioned would mix too well.  Hopefully Square becomes open to allowing a Challenger or two into the next Smash Bros.

216

TalkBack / Re: Donkey Kong Country Returns to Feature Super Guide

« on: November 10, 2010, 10:31:39 AM »

I'm fine with a generous amount of lives.  I'd much rather be given copious extra turns than have the actual level design dumbed down or simplified.  Sure, there's a tension that comes with having just one more life, and if you lose, it's all over...  but I'd much rather have 99 lives (like in NSMBWii) and be able to mess around and try for crazy stunts and impossible feats without worrying about having to start over.  BIT.TRIP RUNNER has infinite lives, and it doesn't make the core experience any less fun (or insanely difficult).

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 217: Pargon Lindy Tier Aretak Pargon

« on: October 31, 2010, 02:36:42 PM »

FZeroBoyo, you beat me to it.  The Darkness Comes!  And welcome back, J-O-N.

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TalkBack / Re: 3DS Shop Channel Shown at Investors Meeting

« on: October 30, 2010, 02:07:18 PM »

That's chockful of good news.  Videos, player info, and web site access straight from the Shop Channel?  Yes, please.  And that consumer tryout event at an exhibition hall nearly two months before release is a great harbinger of things to come out west, as it hopefully means NOA is planning a similar thing in large markets sometime before March.  Hmm -- Can a "harbinger" be positive, or is it only a bringer of doom?  Either way, I love this drip of 3DS info out of Japan.  Keeps the urges fed until 3/2011. 

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Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive #15: Nintendo DS Edition

« on: October 24, 2010, 04:29:56 PM »

So far, seems like it'll be a very close match-up between World, Dusk, and Lunar.  I've been curious about the adventure-style games on DS for awhile, but the lack of true running-around gameplay has always made me hesitant about Hotel Dusk or even Phoenix Wright.  Probably missing out.  And I'm not a huge RPG guy, but World Ends With You sounds pretty amazing.  As for Lunar Knights, I do have Boktai for GBA, and the sunlight mechanic is crazy (if frustrating) and the game itself is very cool and inventive.  Hard to find others doing the same thing that Kojima did with that series.  I'm gonna have to meditate on this one...

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Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive #14: Yoshi's Story -- Official Discussion Thread

« on: October 13, 2010, 10:25:15 PM »

I just found out the Castle's unbalanced difficulty first-hand....   Somehow I got there with only 3 Yoshi's remaining (this is my first play-through of the game, so I'm experimenting a bit and, thus, losing).  I quickly lose 2 more.  I need only a dozen or so fruit. As something of a manual difficulty adjustment, I've been trying to limit myself to the melons and my "lucky" fruit (in this case, the apples).  My last Yoshi, Ol' Red, is jumping and licking away.  Finally I need a single, solitary fruit.  By this point I'll take anything: banana, berries, anything.  Suddenly I enter one of those Question Box challenges--here, a gauntlet of buzz saws and swords.  I evade what I think is the last of the blades before I jump and land just barely on the edge of a spinning saw, and Pow -- The Shy Guys take me away.  Game Over.  I have to start again from Page 1.

Feeling a little ashamed...

(And I've beaten Bit.Trip BEAT, CORE, and RUNNER!)

So the fault lies where?  Loose controls?  My own sloppy play?  Or unbalanced level design?  Hard to say.  But that adorable theme music just became a whole lot more grating on my nerves.

221

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 81: Messin' with Metts

« on: October 12, 2010, 08:06:39 PM »

First time listener to Radio Trivia...  definitely a fun change of pace from the usual talking heads bit.

Man, was I excited about Game #1.  I thought it sounded familiar after the first selection, but then once the second track kicked in I knew it.  Have been playing this recently after I scored the necessary hardware over the summer.  Love the music and, almost surprisingly, the deeper-than-expected gameplay.  Each time I play it I notice a little nuance that I haven't yet seen.  Definitely one to own if you have the equipment, so to speak.

Good choice, TYP, if I may be so bold as to call you that.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive #14: Yoshi's Story -- Official Discussion Thread

« on: October 12, 2010, 06:06:01 PM »

This is one of those games I got really excited for upon its announcement, then bypassed for no great reason when it released.  I fear I let the naysayers dissuade me, as I was 17 and impressionable.  Now that I'm 29 and confident that liking a cutesy pop-up book done in primary colors will not render me impotent, I'm able to give the game an honest look.  And more importantly, play the darn thing and have fun doing so. 

I only just downloaded it and have played through the first two levels.  Just enough to scratch the surface and see what the basics entail.  But already I love the graphical style and opening theme music.  I'm curious to see how the gameplay holds up over multiple play-throughs, which seems necessary in order to see the whole game (an idea I'm not opposed to).  In fact, I sort of love the idea that I can "beat" the game with a minimal amount of effort if I so choose.  Eat any fruit, play through the 6 pages once, and boom -- Game Over.  I hate that so many games make simply completing the main quest such an arduous task.  I love the satisfaction of "winning" a game, but when I was younger I could count on two hands the number of times I'd done just that.  I'm a bit more willing to dig my heels in nowadays, but the idea itself, of offering up an Easy Mode without making it an option on a menu screen, is a creative solution to the problem of game difficulty for a wide-ranging crowd of players.  Such flexibility-by-design is rarely seen.  Too bad the kiddy aesthetic doomed this game to be ignored by so many macho teens like myself back in 1998.

More impressions as I get further into the fruit-eating action...

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TalkBack / Re: Capcom Adding More Titles to Virtual Console Arcade

« on: October 09, 2010, 07:32:17 PM »

Gun.Smoke!!!   Please???

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TalkBack / Re: Silicon Knights Developing X-Men: Destiny

« on: October 08, 2010, 10:21:29 AM »

@Brandogg:  Get on the phone with Hideki Konno, now!

I just finished Power-Up, the Chris Kohler book about Japanese video games, and it ends with a chapter on the merging of Eastern philosophy with Western developers, with Silicon Knights as one of the examples.  I loved Eternal Darkness, but sadly came to discover it well after it was for sale new on the shelves.  I have no interest in an X-Men game, none, but I'm glad SK has work.  Hopefully they and Next-Level (working on Ghost Recon) will cash their checks and go back to making games I'm interested in.  But that's just me being selfish. 

Keep the dream (team) alive, everyone...  I still want to see Raven Blade by Retro Studios!  That demo blew my mind back in 2001.

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TalkBack / Re: Donkey Kong Country Returns Impressions

« on: September 24, 2010, 05:57:53 PM »

I was initially hesitant about this game after its E3 reveal, wishing that the then-rumored Retro Studios Donkey Kong was going to be some modern take on the original arcade game.  I liked DKC back in the day, but my nostalgia for the series doesn't run as deep as for other Nintendo franchises.  But.  The more I see about the game, the more I'm getting amped.  Or, at least a high level of curiosity.  The motion control worries me a tad, too, but I have to believe a standard way to control will be available.  At the very least, I think the game looks pretty outstanding.  I'll take beautiful art design and crisp animation over plasticine "realistic" character models and worlds any day.