Topic: PODCAST: Radio Free Nintendo: Episode 114

[Jonnyboy117]

Greg is back for Listener Mail, in which we decide who lives and who dies among Nintendo's franchises.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/podcastArt.cfm?artid=16659

 We are become death.  



 Episode 114: Gaming Eugenics    

 
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Everybody's back this week, and we're mostly pretty damn happy about everything in Nintendo land.  New Business includes games such as: Bangai-O Spirits, Super Mario Galaxy, No More Heroes, Ys Book I&II, and Assassin's Creed.  We're also all checking out Super Mario RPG on Virtual Console.    

In a large pile of your Listener Mail, we start with a contentious argument over how we'd wield the power of life and death over Nintendo's franchises.  A couple of listeners sent us very informative corrections on statements we've made in past episodes.  The segment wraps with questions about how to endure Nintendo's famous game droughts and whether Wii MotionPlus can improve z-axis motions.    

Credits:    

This podcast was edited by James Jones.    

Music for this episode of Radio Free Nintendo is used with permission from Jason Ricci & New Blood. You can purchase their new album, Rocket Number 9, directly from the record label, or download it from iTunes, or call your local record store and ask for it!

[Schadenfreude]

MP3 link goes to Episode 113. I think the ACC one does as well.

[Nick DiMola]

MP3 link goes to Episode 113. I think the ACC one does as well.

Thanks! Fixed it up...

[Nick DiMola]

Man the first question of listener mail is AWESOME. Great discussion was sparked around the topic, I love it.

Oh and Zelda reboot makes me sad. Look at Phantom Hourglass, fail.

Sophia's letter is a good one too. I agree about the Super Mario 64 demo. I must've played that 10 second demo a thousand times at Sears. Totally blew me away and I just couldn't believe how amazing it was. My first day with Ocarina of Time also rivals that. What an amazing moment, a stunning game that was just absolutely amazing.

[NWR_Lindy]

Playing Super Mario 64 for the first time was definitely one of my gaming career highlights as well.  I can't remember if I said that, but booting that up for the first time was MAGICAL.

[Jonnyboy117]

I could have spent another five minutes talking about my favorite gaming moments, but I deferred to the other guys in the interest of time.  One that really sticks out was launch day for Ocarina of Time.  I went to Kaybee Toys to pick it up, along with two other friends.  We all went to one guy's house and set up three TVs and three N64s so we could all play at the same time.  It was a lot of fun to compare progress, comment on things that we saw, and help each other through problems.

Another great memory is also Zelda-related.  At my very first E3 in 2000, Majora's Mask was the first game I played on opening day, which means it was the first time I ever played a press demo of a game.  I tried out the Goron racing game and loved it, but I quickly decided that Zelda should not be experienced in the demo atmosphere but should be saved for longer, immersive gaming sessions.

[NWR_insanolord]

I'm honored to be mentioned in the podcast, and I absolutely love the irony in the fact that I got Jonny to say something nice about a WiiWare game but he said it about a WiiWare game that I have absolutely no interest in and probably wouldn't download even if it were free and I had a million blocks.

EDIT: Cool, you read my listener mail too (the SD card reader speed one).

[Flames_of_chaos]

I noticed the talk about My Aquarium, there is actually a Japanese 360 game called AquaZone which is exactly like My Aquarium except its 40 dollars and you get the fun of buying fish as if you bought them in real life via DLC, yet the fish are on the disc so the DLC are unlock keys for the fish on the disc. In order to get all the achievement points the game offers you have to buy all the DLC which is 5,000 Microsoft Points.

[Crimm]

In order to get all the achievement points the game offers you have to buy all the DLC which is 5,000 Microsoft Points.

Brilliant.

[NWR_insanolord]

Hey Jonny, for a change of pace I'd like your opinion on downloadable games for a different system. Did you buy both Geometry Wars games on XBLA and if so do you think it's worth it to get both? I'm buying a 360 and, though I plan on buying way too many downloadable games like I do on the Wii, I figure I should only buy both if it's really necessary.

[Flames_of_chaos]

As a owner of both geometry wars games on 360 I would say no to that. I think geometry wars 2 and geometry wars galaxies(Wii version more than the DS) are the two must own geometry wars games, and the wonderful thing is retro evolved is included as a mode in galaxies.

[NWR_insanolord]

I already own Galaxies but I don't play it much. It's the kind of thing I'd play a lot more if I could just turn on the Wii and play it for 5 minutes without worrying about what disc is in there, the same reason I bought Jonny's whipping boy WiiWare games, Wild West Guns and Midnight Pool, instead of Wii Play.

[Jonnyboy117]

I agree with Flames... there's little reason to get the original GW now that GW2 is out.  If you already own Galaxies, you can try it for yourself.  The XBLA version is exactly the same but with leaderboards, and those are no longer very compelling since the game was released three years ago.

There are definitely lots of XBLA games worth buying, but the nice thing is that every single one of them has a demo, so there's no excuse not to try them before spending your points.

I'll be interested to hear what you think of Groovin' Blocks.  I think it will make you look at your other WiiWare purchases in a different light, since it is a better game and a better value than almost anything else on the service.

[DAaaMan64]

F U JONNY and don't worry I'm joking about that part

1080: Avalanche ABSOLUTELY RULES. I STILL play this. Me and my friends love it, and if you played Shaun White Snowboarding, you know it would AMAZING with the balance board.

Lindy, I agree Zelda needs a revamping. And I think they are doing it.

Greg, I agree main Mario series is amazing. Drop dead amazing. Platforming is my favorite genre.

[Jonnyboy117]

I think 1080 still has a chance to be an awesome franchise, but it needs a drastic overhaul and a lot more depth.  Avalanche was a huge disappointment for me.

Balance Board controls would be a great addition for 1080, but that's not nearly enough.  The Wii version of Shaun White is probably going to be lame despite the controls.  If only they would combine Balance Board support with the open-mountain game design of the HD versions!  Then I'd be really excited for it.  Same with Skate It -- the controls may turn out great, but the game design seems to be so stripped down from Skate that I'm skeptical of whether it will be fun for very long.  I'm a LOT more optimistic for the next SSX game on Wii, since that series has already been done competently on the system and would benefit just as much as the others from Balance Board support.

[DAaaMan64]

I think 1080 still has a chance to be an awesome franchise, but it needs a drastic overhaul and a lot more depth.  Avalanche was a huge disappointment for me.

Balance Board controls would be a great addition for 1080, but that's not nearly enough.  The Wii version of Shaun White is probably going to be lame despite the controls.  If only they would combine Balance Board support with the open-mountain game design of the HD versions!  Then I'd be really excited for it.  Same with Skate It -- the controls may turn out great, but the game design seems to be so stripped down from Skate that I'm skeptical of whether it will be fun for very long.  I'm a LOT more optimistic for the next SSX game on Wii, since that series has already been done competently on the system and would benefit just as much as the others from Balance Board support.

NO EXCUSES. LOVE AVALANCHE OR GET OUT.

But seriously I'm joking. No need for any long winded reasoning. I'm cool with whateva

[NWR_insanolord]

Unfortunately I don't have the blocks for Groovin' Blocks (and I forgot that Groovin' Blocks had the word blocks in its name when I started typing that sentence. Blocks.). I've already had to delete half of my WiiWare games to make room for more WiiWare games and I don't want to do that again for a while. I'll have some room once I beat Toki Tori but I'm not sure that Groovin' Blocks will be high enough on the list to make the cut. Once Nintendo releases their magical non-hard drive storage solution that they've confirmed to exist several dozen times but not officially announced or given any kind of hint as to what it actually is I'll certainly pick it up.

[DAaaMan64]

Total N64 games: 387 WAY OFF

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nintendo_64_games

[NWR_insanolord]

1 out of every 3 things said on Radio Free Nintendo is untrue, but only 20% of the mistakes are intentional outright lies.

[Flames_of_chaos]

I agree with Flames... there's little reason to get the original GW now that GW2 is out.  If you already own Galaxies, you can try it for yourself.  The XBLA version is exactly the same but with leaderboards, and those are no longer very compelling since the game was released three years ago.

There are definitely lots of XBLA games worth buying, but the nice thing is that every single one of them has a demo, so there's no excuse not to try them before spending your points.

If I remember correctly both the Wii and DS versions of Galaxies do have online leaderboards for retro evolved.  I think all the download services on each platform has a good amount of games worth checking out. I dont try demoes for downloadable games that often and the only game I was pissed off a little on was PAIN on PSN because when it came out it felt like it was only 1/2 or 1/4th of a game, and it's painful and sad seeing the character select screen full of BUY ME! signs (yes each additional character is $.99).

[D_Average]

Sophia's letter is a good one too. I agree about the Super Mario 64 demo. I must've played that 10 second demo a thousand times at Sears. Totally blew me away and I just couldn't believe how amazing it was. My first day with Ocarina of Time also rivals that. What an amazing moment, a stunning game that was just absolutely amazing.

Great question, mine was definitely with Mario 64 as well.  I downloaded screenshots for months before the demo finally hit Toys R Us, and when I finally got my grubby mitts on the controller I was in awe.  I spent hours there and was actually able to talk them into to selling me the N64 a couple days early.

[Jonnyboy117]

If I remember correctly both the Wii and DS versions of Galaxies do have online leaderboards for retro evolved.

All the leaderboards in Galaxies are useless because they don't show your friends' scores.

[D_Average]

If I remember correctly both the Wii and DS versions of Galaxies do have online leaderboards for retro evolved.

All the leaderboards in Galaxies are useless because they don't show your friends' scores.

Exactly, a definite missed opportunity.

[DAaaMan64]

Total N64 games: 387 WAY OFF

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nintendo_64_games

Jonny, you guys should consider issuing a correction on this, even if you disregarded half these games you'd have nearly double of what you guys said was the N64 game library. You guys are recording tonight aren't you?

[D_Average]

Total N64 games: 387 WAY OFF

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nintendo_64_games

Jonny, you guys should consider issuing a correction on this, even if you disregarded half these games you'd have nearly double of what you guys said was the N64 game library. You guys are recording tonight aren't you?

A lot of those are Japan only.  The list on Metacritic, for those reviewed by popular US sites is much shorter:
http://www.metacritic.com/games/n64/alpha/

Note - None of the games on the list are European only, sorry Greg!