Kickstarter project 'NES' seeks to jazz up classic Nintendo tunes

Kickstarter, a site where just about any type of project can seek to be "crowd funded," seemed to come out of nowhere, for me anyway. It has, however, become an integral part of gaming culture, as many indie developers have successfully funded their games through the service. Through all of this, I haven't actively participated on Kickstarter...until now, that is.

I have now backed a whopping two projects on Kickstarter! The second, and most recent, is 'NES' by Richie Palys, an ambitious and promising musical tribute to NES games. According to the project's Kickstarter page, "The album is going to be in the genre of jazz with a heavy emphasis on synth and production." Palys promises it'll be an enticing mix of jazz and the retro 8-bit sounds we all recognize and love.

It'll be a real loss to the Nintendo fanbase if this project fails to come to fruition, so click on over and pledge your support now!

Mario's Many Moves: Flight

Through the use of a variety of power-ups, Mario has taken flight many times over the years. This began with the ever-famous Tanooki suit in the NES game Super Mario Bros. 3. The Tanooki leaf turns Mario into a raccoon-like form. The key feature of the Tanooki suit is the tail. Mario can spin the Tanooki tail to put the hurt on enemies and also fly into the sky. Infinite flight would destroy the integrity of a Mario platformer, so the Tanooki tail's power is limited.

As Mario moved from 8- to 16-bit, he maintained his ability to fly with the feather power-up in Super Mario World. No, the feather did not grant him wings: instead, it adorned him in a bright yellow cape. Though it grants him the same ability as the Tanooki tail, the cape feels and controls entirely different. Mario can soar into the sky with enough momentum, but maintaining that flight turns out to be a tad more tricky in SMW. I would love to tell you exactly how it's done, but I'm afraid I don't know myself!

Flight in a 3-D Mario platformer turned out even more different. In Super Mario 64, the wing cap is the power-up of choice for flight. To lift from the ground to soaring heights, Mario need only perform a consecutive high jump with the wing cap on. After that, it's a matter of alternately diving and reaching for the sky again in smooth, sweeping motions.

So there you have it! Not all of it, of course, but I hope you'll play all the Mario you can to discover the secrets of flight for yourself! Have a splendid weekend!

By the way, I beat Super Mario Bros.: A Review

Is there a video game more iconic than the original Super Mario Bros.? The NES classic gave form and character to gaming's most prolific mascot, Mario. It showed us that even the simplest of tunes can stick with us for an eternity. It taught us how to search for secrets and hidden paths. Really, it defined much of what video games could and would be in years to come.

But after 26+ years, does this game still hold up? With the help of simple, yet fun, gameplay, the answer is a resounding yes. As Mario, you traverse eight worlds that are each split into four levels, the last of which is a castle of sorts that ends in a boss fight with the Koopa King (Bowser). Sounds simple enough, right? The gameplay revolves around using Mario's incredible jumping ability to stomp foes and clear gaps. Sure, it's a little rough around the edges and you'll most likely experience a handful of cheap deaths before your journey's through, but there is a surprising amount of depth to be found along the way.

After playing this game for weeks and weeks and weeks, I felt like I gained some actual skill at it. It's a great experience in general. If you haven't already, I suggest you put down the meager $5 to download this game onto your Wii console. You won't regret it.

Nintendo Music: Underwater Theme

I had to bring this song up at some point. I've been playing the original Super Mario Bros., from which the original rendition of this song came. This, of course, is an arrangement of the original. You'll notice the three distinct styles of the song as it progresses, beginning with the original "bleepy" version, moving into an orchestral version, and finishing with a, ah, "barn-raisin'" version.

Thinking about it, perhaps there was more reason behind this set-up than meets the ear. If you've ever played level 2-2 of the original Super Mario Bros., you may remember that the song didn't, well, flow back into itself very smoothly. Once the cycle was done, there was what I like to call a jolting rest before it started again abruptly. The style shifts in this arrangement can be called nothing but unexpected and even jolting.

Think about that! And have a great gaming weekend!

Here's one gamer who is more than a year late

Don't you just want to play this?

Nintendo fans have great cause to celebrate this year: it's the 25th Anniversary of the Legend of Zelda series! This really is a big accomplishment. Firstly, 25 years is ancient on the video game industry timeline. Secondly, it's kind of a big deal that this video game series has been so consistently good over a period of 25 years. Think about it!

Fans have undoubtedly been doing fun things to celebrate all year. So what have I been doing, you ask? Well, I bought a Nintendo 3DS back in March. I played Ocarina of Time 3D. I bought a couple of Zelda-related downloads. I'll play Skyward Sword when it comes out later this month, of course. Let's just say that the list of what I haven't done is a lot longer than what I have done.

Truth be told, I'm still workin' on celebrating last year's special occasion: the 25th Anniversary of the Super Mario series. I'm going to beat every Super Mario game made! And the game I'm up to now is (drumroll, please) Super Mario Bros. for the NES! Nope, I've never beaten that game, and even after a week of playing it, I can't get past World 6. What can I say? The controls throw me off. Happy weekend, readers!

A weekend guide for Nintendo fans

Wednesday was a big day in many ways for Nintendo fans. So maybe this is old news, but if you have gotten lost in all of the Nintendo goodness that happened, let the Nintendo Lifeline help you find your way through it this weekend!

First, a special Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword bundle was announced. The first shipment of the game will include a bonus 25th Anniversary Symphony CD, all for $50. Upgrade to $70 and the game comes with a special limited edition gold Wii remote Plus. Pre-order your preferred package on Amazon today!

Next, 3DS Ambassadors are now able to download the ten free NES games promised a few months back. Here follows a list of the games and my impressions so far:

Super Mario Bros.: How can you go wrong with the original Super Mario Bros. for the NES? Okay, the gameplay might have aged a bit, but this classic can still be fun today. It feels pretty good on the 3DS, but it is admittedly not as comfortable as the sideways Wii remote set-up.

The Legend of Zelda: I've never understood why the original Legend of Zelda was so innovative back in its time. Perhaps that's because it is anything but innovative at this point in time. But, in celebration of the series' silver anniversary, I'm willing to give it more of a shot than I ever have before. Stay tuned!

Yoshi: Puzzle games never seem to make it into my gaming libraries, but they probably should, because I have enjoyed the heck out of Yoshi, a simplistic NES puzzle game. This game is definitely the hidden gem in this group of NES freebies. When this game is released for the general public, the $5 should be worth it.

Donkey Kong Jr.: I haven't had much time with this game, but I don't like what I've played so far. The action is slow, the gameplay is boring, and the controls are iffy.

Metroid: I've talked about this game before, so you should just check out this post to get the full picture. In short, this is a great game. Go for it if it's free, and consider it even if you have to pay the $5.

Other free games for Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors include Wrecking Crew, The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, Balloon Fight, Ice Climber, and NES Open Tournament Golf. I'll play those a little more in order to provide more coverage on them in the future.

Finally, I want to include instructions on how Ambassadors are to download these games, because it's a fairly complicated process: 1) Go into the Nintendo eShop from your Nintendo 3DS menu screen. 2) Scroll all the way to the left in order to find the Settings/Other icon and select it. 3) Scroll down to the Your Downloads button and select it. 4) Scroll down until you find the ten free games and select Redownload on the first one. You'll have to repeat steps 2-4 multiple times in order to download all of the games.

Have an amazing Labor Day weekend!

 

Are you a Nintendo 3DS Ambassador?

I'm sure you've heard the news by now, so I'm not going to be repeating anything unless it needs to be repeated. If you haven't heard the news by now, here's the link to all the info you need.

I'd like to start with a little bit of math! Don't worry, I'll try to keep it clean. So the price of the Nintendo 3DS system dropped from 250 bucks to 170 bucks. That's a difference of 80 bucks (an unprecedented drop in just four months time). What are Nintendo's plans to appease early adopters (or what they have deemed Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors)? Well, you start with 10 free downloadable NES virtual console games worth five bucks apiece. Okay, that's $50. But I'd like to tie in the value of receiving them earlier than the general public: priceless. Next, early N3DS buyers will have the opportunity to download 10 more free games later this year. These will be Gameboy Advance (GBA) game downloads that Nintendo has no plans to release to the general public at all. I bought a used copy of Metroid Fusion for about $15. Even if we choose to value each GBA game at 10 bucks apiece, the value is a whopping $100. A $150 value altogether? Not bad.

I was quite upset after hearing about the price drop of the N3DS, but Ambassadors will be well-compensated, make no mistake. Have a sensational weekend!

Why 3D Classics: Excitebike makes me giddy: A Review

You'll never guess how I found out how to play this game! Go on! Guess!

Okay, okay, I'll just tell you. I found a tattered old manual for the original Excitebike in my basement. I thought it was funny.

Anyway, on with this review! First, let me explain just what "3D Classics" means. 3D Classics: Excitebike is the first in a hopefully lengthy library of old video games given the 3D treatment. The original gameplay and graphics remain intact, but now 3D depth has been added. And for a 27-year-old game, Excitebike holds up pretty well. The original was released for the NES in 1984. It was a side-scrolling racer that put players' reflexes to the test with jumps to land and obstacles to avoid. In order to excel at this game, several techniques should be mastered: landing jumps squarely, doing wheelies over certain obstacles, and using turbo effectively, to name a few.

This complex gameplay lends itself to Excitebike's longevity. Trying to pull everything together in order to get the fastest times is a stimulating challenge. Oh, and the 3D visuals aren't too shabby either. I'm dying to see which classic video game gets the 3D treatment next.

The Wii remote lives!

Personally, I love the Wii remote. And I was glad to see that it will carry over to Wii U, because I feel it hasn't yet lived up to its full potential. I received a Wii before the controller gel pads became standard. Heck, I had a Wii before Nintendo saw fit to issue stronger wrist straps. So, yeah, it's been a while. But the feeling I got when I first held a Wii-mote remains clear to this day. It just...fits. You know, in your hand. It's pure video game magic. And talk about versatility! Plug in a Nunchuck for complete control and also the ability to move both hands independent of one another. Flip the Wii remote to turn it into a classic NES-style controller.

Then, of course, there's the motion and point control. Steer, swing, point, shake, jab, and attack without the use of a single button. Wii MotionPlus, an add-on to the standard Wii remote, has gone largely unused during the duration of its existence. Wii U will give it the chance it so desperately needs at this point.

To pair the most versatile video game controller out there with what will be one of the most complex (the Wii U touchscreen controller) is a wise move on Nintendo's part. I, for one, am excited to see what this little stick of a controller still has up its gel pad.

Metroid Fusion and the dawn of familiarity

Well, the stars aligned for me to play the fourth installment in the Metroid series. Said installment is, of course, Metroid Fusion for the GameBoy Advance system. Two events that were necessary for me to really enjoy a Metroid game occurred just in time for Fusion. The first is that I built a strong enough foundation composed of Metroid series basics to avoid (much) frustration. The second is the game itself: Metroid Fusion has the smoothest control scheme of any installment that came before it.

Nearly every video game series, be it Mario or Zelda, has its own way of doing things. Coincidentally, I grew up with Mario and Zelda, so the basic principles of those games are stuck with me. I did not grow up with Metroid. But after playing the NES original and the SNES iteration, I've learned and solidified the basic principles. Samus Aran, a bounty hunter in a sci-fy space world, is always the main and playable character. She does a kind of spin through the air when she jumps diagonally. A host of power-ups and upgrades can be added to her suit through the course of any given adventure. If in doubt, bomb everything in sight, or use bombs to catapult Samus into hidden shafts. I get it now. And that foundation has enhanced the Metroid experience ten-fold for me. 

Still more important than that are the improvements made with Metroid Fusion itself. I distinctly remember the thrill I got when I first discovered Samus's ledge grip ability. Going back to previous Metroid games and finding Samus incapable of grabbing onto ledges made the gameplay feel incomplete indeed. The rest of the gameplay in Fusion feels flawless and comfortable, not to mention fun. Samus's ever-growing list of weapons and abilities are easy to manage and use.

This may shock you, but the next Metroid game I'll experience will be Metroid: Other M, which is the most recent installment. Sorry if that disappoints you, but I found a brand-new copy of the game for $20 (a steal!), and I can no longer let it sit dormant. See you in two days!

Two days, too much to cover...but I'll try

Update: Here are the links to a handful of new trailers Nintendo has released at E3:
Paper Mario
Mario Kart
Animal Crossing
Super Mario
Ocarina of Time 3D

I'll get straight to it today: starting with the brand-new eShop for Nintendo 3DS. With this important system update, Nintendo offered 3DS users everywhere two free downloads. The first is 3D Classics: Excite Bike. The original NES title remains untouched except for the addition of 3D depth. And it just so happens that a cool 3D trick comes into play: as the player moves the 3D depth slider, the whole background image shifts along with the depth itself.

The second piece of free Nintendo goodness is the Pokedex 3D. Users will start out with a limited amount of Pokemon data, but more can be obtained through SpotPass and by other means. Pokemon can be viewed in full 3D and can also be placed in the real world through augmented reality. Also included is comprehensive info on each acquired Pokemon: types, stats, and moves are just a few examples of what players can expect.

As if that didn't take up enough space, those little tidbits are nothing compared to the flood of new details revealed from Nintendo's E3 media conference, which took place Tuesday morning. Here goes:

2011 is The Legend of Zelda 25th anniversary. Fans can expect a host of celebratory events to take place throughout the year, starting with the ability to download The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console service. That'll be seven bucks, please! Next, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D will be released on the 19th of this month. Club Nintendo members will be treated to a complimentary copy of the game's official soundtrack for registering their game...offer valid while supplies last, people! The long-awaited Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword will finally be released for Wii this holiday season. A special promotion will see fans with super-awesome gold Wii-motes with the Zelda crest on the front.

New trailers are available for the following Nintendo 3DS games: Mario Kart, Super Mario, Animal Crossing, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, Star Fox 64 3D, Paper Mario, and more. In fact, 3D versions of said trailers can be downloaded for free on the Nintendo 3DS system. They all look amazing, by the way! The current Nintendo 3DS drought will be remedied by year's end, no doubt about it.

Readers, if you've made it this far, you're in for a treat, because Nintendo has pulled back the veil on their next home console. Rumors that the controller would have a built-in, 6-inch touch screen were, indeed, true (see the image on this post). The official name of the console is (drumroll, please)...Wii U! If Wii was able to capture the non-gamer market, then Wii U will capture the hardcore market. All thanks to a highly versatile controller and HD graphics capabilities. Non-gamer market, worry not: Wii U is backwards compatible with Wii games and accessories. In fact, Wii-motes will continue to be at the forefront of control with Wii U. The intention is that four Wii-motes and one touch screen controller can be used at one time. It's a new system, but incorporates the ol' Wii overtly, yet...subtly. Expect more details to emerge before the system's 2012 release. 

Super Metroid and Expectations

On a scale of great influences in my early life, the Super Nintendo is second only to the Nintendo 64. Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario World, X-Men: Apocalypse, Street Fighter 2, Donkey Kong Country 2...all considered, is it really surprising that my love of Nintendo has lasted so long?

One game that never made it into the family Super Nintendo library was Super Metroid. What a great game, right? I had some serious expectations prior to playing this. Apparently it's one of the best games in the entire Metroid series. Possibly due to all of this praise, Super Metroid fell short for me. The same happened with The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

Here's what really mystifies me though (and keep focused, this could get messy): A Link to the Past didn't keep my attention very long for obvious reasons. I mean, I grew up on Ocarina of Time, so I'm partial to 3D Zeldas. As for the Metroid series, I began with the NES original. Super Metroid blew that game out of the water, right...? RIGHT?! Then why do I seem to like the original Metroid better than Super Metroid? I may never learn the answer.

I'm happy to say that I at least found a boss battle to enjoy on Super Metroid, which is more than I can say for Metroid. Also, the atmosphere of Super Metroid is genuinely awesome, thanks to eerie sound effects/music and creepy enemies. Given a choice between Metroid and Super Metroid, however, I would rather play Metroid. Call a doctor if you feel you must.

Metroid and the Thrill of the New

The adventure begins!

I admit it. I'm a modern gamer. I am acutely aware that video games have become easier with time, thanks in part to the improvement in technology. Sometimes I am discouraged by this. Am I not a true gamer because the original Legend of Zelda on NES bores me?!

In a deeply personal and eye-opening way, the game Metroid for the NES has answered this question and more. Have I beaten it? No. Will I ever? Maybe not. I just couldn't resist expressing my excitement about it here on my blog.

In a comparison of controls between Metroid and Super Mario Bros. (NES), Metroid wins. In a comparison of the drive to keep exploring between Metroid and The Legend of Zelda, Metroid wins. And this is coming from a huge fan of both the Zelda and Super Mario Bros. series. The original Metroid seamlessly combined the great aspects of both series into one polished game. It's a shame my older siblings didn't see the value of Metroid back in the NES era! I can see where I'd be now...I'd have gotten all the entries in the Metroid Prime series and then some.

I'll get to that point some day, but for now, I only have the original (thanks to the Wii system's Virtual Console Feature, of course!). Before I move on, I must say that before I bought Metroid, the extent of my exposure to the series stretched only to screenshots. I had never played a single entry before. That said, my perspective was quite fresh. Also, it was a new experience, which is always a beautiful thing.

Anyway, Metroid is truly great, even by today's standards! The controls are spot-on; I can adjust every jump to perfection. There's no need to open menus repeatedly in order to equip items, yet Samus can obtain and utilize a surprising variety of abilities and equipment. The idea of exploring to my heart's content keeps me coming back for more, even though I haven't reached any sort of benchmark to indicate that I've actually accomplished something (i.e. a boss). I can wander from room to room to corridor to room and so on and not find a single thing! But I know that if I keep searching, I'll find something worthwhile. For example, today I randomly happened across a whole new area with new music and new enemies...the thrill of discovery! Maybe it's just me, but Metroid is an incredible game!

The Nintendo Way (continued)

5.       Nintendo Power magazine has been my constant companion since March 2006. There’s not a source I trust more for Nintendo news, previews, and reviews. NP has broadened my horizons, letting me in on games that are a perfect match for me, but that I wouldn’t have discovered otherwise. A great example is the rhythm game Samba de Amigo for Wii. At a mere $20, this easily makes my list of the top five best values. The game-play revolves around the idea that Wii remotes can be used much like maracas. I can’t go into detail, but I love this game. It also opened my eyes to the fact that the rhythm genre of video games extends beyond Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Imagine that!

4.      Nintendo’s vast history is more accessible now than ever before through Wii. That’s right; number four is all about old-school! Thanks to the Wii system’s Virtual Console, I own games like Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Mario Party 2, Donkey Kong Country (numbers one, two, and three), Star Fox 64, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and Metroid. I put Metroid at the end for a reason: this is how the Virtual Console feature has really impacted me as a gamer. The Metroid series is one of the big Nintendo juggernauts. It was only a few months ago that I decided I wanted to be a part of this series. I spent a whopping five bucks on the NES original. Boy was I impressed! I never thought I could enjoy NES classics like I enjoy Metroid.

3.       The Super Smash Bros. series highlights another great Nintendo feat: that is, the gargantuan roster of characters and all the fantastic worlds they inhabit. It just so happens that each Super Smash Bros. game thus far has managed what seemed impossible: to bring this enormous number of characters together in a most perfect way. The Nintendo “family” includes such figures as sweet, innocent Kirby, charismatic Captain Falcon, determined Pokemon Trainer, sweet-but-sassy Princess Peach, and slightly dorky Ness, to name a few.

2.      Creativity and originality are indispensible traits in video games. (Or at least they should be.) Nintendo titles and systems have them in spades. Take the most basic series in Nintendo history: Super Mario Bros. Let’s see, there is a Mushroom Kingdom, pipes that warp the player to different locations, enemies with names like Goomba, Koopa, and Shy Guy, a plumber as a protagonist, a dinosaur/turtle…thing as a villain, and a kidnapped princess. Do you see where I’m going with this? How do all these wacky elements combine to create the best-known, most widely-played video game series of all time? Who knows? But it’s great, isn’t it? Nintendo has demonstrated again and again the willingness to try new things.

1.      From casual to hard core, from age 7 to 77, Nintendo games cater to every player’s needs. Do video games get more casual than Wii Sports? I’ve got friends, who had never touched a video game before, to play Wii Sports back in the day (or back in 2007 anyway). It seems it’s becoming the fashion now-a-days to consider an M-rated, explosion-littered, kill-everything-in-sight game to be “hard core”. Well here’s my idea of a hard core game: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. A plot with depth, characters with motives, music with thought, a spot-on control scheme that includes the perfect balance of motion-controls to button presses, and cleverly-designed dungeons…the story is driven by emotionally-charged cut scenes; the characters bring the player to wonder who the true enemies and allies are (*cough*Midna*cough*). It easily takes 30-50 hours to complete this game, depending on the time spent pursuing optional, but extensive side quests. Wii Sports and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess are just two examples of the variety offered by Nintendo.

That concludes my list of the top ten reasons to love Nintendo. So join me as I offer my opinions on Nintendo games, embark on the journey of the Metroid series, and ponder on all the joys and hardships that come with being a gamer.