The Character List.

For those of you who’re not quite sure what a Zelda marathon is, well it’s a massive gaming session where in this case two teams are going to battle it out to see who can complete all of the Zelda games back to back over a 4 day time period.

The event will take place from the 27th to the 31st December 2011 and will be televised live over the net (see their site for the official schedule). More importantly all money raised will go towards the Humane Society of the United States.

For more information check out their website at marathonman.net. Enjoy!

Definitely not something you see everyday, so well done Travis and everyone that was involved. As always if you’ve done something special that other Nintendo fans would appreciate then send it in and we’ll see if we can feature you on the site.

We all know Nintendo’s first hit was Super Mario Brothers for the NES.  A classic and perfect game in every aspect.  But when you think about it, this game was not easy by any means whatsoever.  I mean, as a 6 year old when I first acquired this masterpiece, it took me many MONTHS to even get to the 8th-world, and even longer to actually beat the game.  Although there were instructions in the manual, not many people read them.  They figured it out themselves without any fancy bylines telling them every move to make in the early stages of the game, while dishing out hints and tips along the way.  If you didn’t make it across the big gap in the first level you thought, “Hm..maybe if I get a running start?”.   This is something that most games try to avoid, making the gamer THINK.”

Let’s shift gears (no pun intended) to discuss the Mario Kart series.  Recently Nintendo released “Mario Kart Wii”.  This features an actual steering wheel instead of an analog stick, and most everything about the game is wonderful,  but I wonder, Could a kid who plays this game and can win all the cups do the same in Super Mario Kart for the SNES?  In the original SNES version didn’t the computer DODGE your attacks often and besides the red shell wasn’t it VERY hard to hit a racer?  And don’t even get me started on the original Rainbow Road track.  Boy, was that a doozy to win in 150cc, even now!

Has anyone played a recent Mario Party game?  In MP1 you would burn fat playing some of the mini-games in there.  Now, in the Mario Party 9 era, you don’t see as many of these “Skateboard Scamper” or “Balloon Burst”-type games that were actually difficult to beat the computer at!

And has anybody compared Super Mario Galaxy to Super Mario 64?  In Galaxy they practically told you where everything was whilst 64 gave you a 5 or 6 word phrase to hint you how to obtain a star in a massive level.  It seems as if games these days contain way too much information in them.  Why can’t they let the gamer play, figure it out himself, and then let him feel the satisfaction from doing so?  I spent WEEKS trying to figure out the “Make Wiggler Squirm!” star in SM64.  Once I discovered that you had to ground-pound the pool of water at the top of mountain and then shrink to go down the hole beneath the water, I had this amazing rush of “OOHHHH!!!”.  You just don’t get those moments anymore with Nintendo games.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go watch my 6-year old sister win a cup in Mario Kart Wii.

Story:

An interesting twist on the original SM64 tale. What if Mario DIDN’T finish the castle, and Yoshi was left waiting for him on the roof? Son now Yoshi has to get the stars by himself, then rescue all 4 of the plumbers.
Besides Waluigi, of course. He is never included. Ever.

Gameplay(8/10):

This retains the same type of gameplay as the original, but now with 4 characters. Their different abilities, except for Yoshi’s tounge, rarely matter more than the other. The only reason you usually will pick anybody other than Yoshi is for their caps. Instead of multiple caps liek in the original, different characters give different hats. Because of that, several new stars are given out (30 of them), but only by using character-specific stuff. Besides that, the new MIPs guys running around everywhere, and some of the worlds’ layouts, this is nearly the same game, remake-wise. Luckily, the original was god enough already, and this makes it even better.

There are two actual problems that I have with the gameplay. One is that it is hard to control the characters at first with the touch screen, and the control pad hurts after a while. That does not subtract points because of the fact that the 3DS will have an analog stick, and I’m assuming it’s fully backwards compatible. what gets 2 points off immeadiately is the level design itself. Both this game and the original suffer from several dud worlds that fail to innovate or even entertain, compared to the rest. Dry Wet world and Big Tiny World, I’m looking at you. The game is now 14 years old, but that still doesn’t mean I can be partial towards bland design.

+30 new stars
+New MIPS to track down
-The 4 characters’ non-cap abilities are not implemented as well as they could
-The same lame worldsin SM64 are still lame here

Graphics(9/10):

This was a launch title, keep in mind. Okay, I’m still impartial, so I will not keep that in mind when saying that the graphics in this game are really good. Each enemy, character, and NPC looks very sharp and crisp, DS-Wise, and most objects are as well. Only Problem: Aggh the floor textures look so stretched out. Too bad most 3D DS games also suffer from this, as well.

+Great Character Models
+Good object models
-Bad floor textures

Sound(7.5/10):

The music in SM64 is hit-or-miss, mostly. You have some great and memorable tracks like Devastation Road and Bob-Omb Battlefield, but many of them are completely forgettable. Especially the 2nd floor ones. Man, did they rush the original game out and forget about the last few worlds or something? Whatever. The voice clips are all original, well mostly, and they’re really good.

+Good Voices/SFX
-Not enough memorable tracks

Challenge(7/10):

Moderately. Like all other 3D Mario platformers, some of the worlds have easy objectives and then one hard one, some have all easy, and some have all hard except the red coin star. You never know, just like Russian Roulette =P

Frustration(6/10):

The touch-screen controls are really hard to get in the beginning. I have really bad experience with it, as you can tell =P

(Frustration scores do not count after 4)

Replayability(8/10):

The minigames take a while to finally unlock, and you’ll realize that you’ll be spending way too much time on them. Combine that with the 150-star quest, and you’ve got a winner in time-wasting. Too bad the only multiplayer is a bunch of lame “race”-type mission modes. In the original Super Mario 64×4, shown at 3 2004, the entire game was supposed to be able to be played in 4-player co-op, and obviously it was dropped, just like the co-op on New SMB. Everyone makes a big deal about the multiplayer in New SMB Wii, but they don’t realize how many previous times Nintendo has let us down before finally making Mario co-op.

+150 Stars
+Lots of minigames to unlock…
+And tons you’ll play
-Bad multiplayer
? Why’d they remove the co-op?

Value(8.5/10):

Worth at least 30 dollars. Used you can find it for about….20 dollars. Nice to see those DS games’ prices finally frop after 5 years.

(Value not counted)

Overall:
8/10, also 80.6% or 43.5/54.

Get this if you love SM64. Get this if you love Platforming. Get this if you love pick-up-and-play minigames. Get this if you love Mario. If not, then this game is not for you, all 6 of you who I have left out.

Thanks for reading my review. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for the next reviews I do, PM me at nintendo City, or comment on an article
at http://ncbblog.wordpress.com/ . It’s off for me to do… something else. Oh yeah, read my comic The Mushroom Kingdom at http://tmk.smackjeeves.com/ , it
is what inspired me to write so many of these dang Mario reviews. =P
Ciao!

Story:
Uhhh… Super Smash Bros. in 8-bit. I don’t know. Read the manual… or something. Do they even write stories in game manuals anymore?

Gameplay (7.333/10):

This is hard to judge; The different modes are really divers, so I’ll judge them seperately and average it.

Tetris: The classic mode. Umm… Duh. 10/10

Push: Nintendo has decided to make an actual competition version of Tetris. There are two sides, mirrored vertically, and the two players will attempt to clear lines for the middle area between the two players to be pushed further towards the edge of their opponents’ screen. This mode is simple and addicting, just like the original. Finally, a multiplayer Tetris without needing those silly items. 9/10

Catch: This one’s a weird one. There is a plus-shaped central core, and you have to move the block into random falling shapes to create 4×4 square. Then you’re able to detonate it and cause any enemies or  falling shapes nearby. Very dumb, in my opinion, and not worth playing for very long, compared to the many other types of games. 4/10.

Mission: Clear a line with a certain shpae, or clear a certain amount of lines, or ect, in a certain amount of time. Simple, really, and not too addicting or original. but it’s still pretty fun. 6/10

Puzzle: This is also a puzzle-game trope that Tetris is not known much for. Solving puzzle-type missions sound more like the Puzzle League series, not this. But luckily, they do it well, and use the obscure Yoshi’s Cookie as a template, which rocks. Anyway, whoever thought of using Tetris pieces to solve puzzles was a genius; it fits extremely well within the rest of the modes, and some of the missions are really challenging. 8/10

Touch: How do you use a touch screen to play Tetris? You have to make it where there is a whole tower of randomly generated tetris pieces, and flip and slide them to try and clear lines. It is really lame, indeed. Luckily, there’s also a puzzle mode for touch mode, which does work. 7/10

So out of all the game modes, it ends up being:   7(.333)/10

Graphics(10/10):

Look at that, man. Retro grapchis everywhere, complimented by HD-ish backgrounds? It looks REALLY nice. I have no more to say.

Sound(9/10):

Remixing 8-bit music is always a win on the internet, and this game is no exception. Only problem is the amount of NES sound effects in the theme music, which detract form the overall experience. I mean, seriously. “Dirty Remixes, in my Tetris?” It could happen to you.

Challenge(10/10):

It’s Tetris. Puzzle games are naturally infinitely hard, because of their lack of ending.

Frustration(3/10):

Puzzle games can get you nerved-wrecked, but not frustrating. But the puzzle missions can wear on you.

(Frustration scores do not count after 4)

Replayability(10/10):

Yet another quality that puzzle games should naturally possess. Plus an online community that is still active as of April 2010. Dang man, this review is easy to write! =P

Value (10/10):

This game used is likely around 15-25 bucks US, thanks to Gamestop’s near-monopoly on game stores (in the eastern US, at least). It’s worth every penny.

(Value not counted)

Overall:

9/10 (also 9.1, 91.66%, or 49.5/54.)

It doesn’t even matter what genre or franchise this game belongs to. It is extremely well-designed, and is extremely addicting. Not to mention the fact that it has great multiplayer. Out of all portable Tetris titles, this one is by far the greatest one.

Thanks for reading my review. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for the next reviews I do, PM me at nintendo City, or comment on an article
at http://ncbblog.wordpress.com/ . It’s off for me to do… something else. Oh yeah, read my comic The Mushroom Kingdom at http://tmk.smackjeeves.com/ , it
is what inspired me to write so many of these dang Mario reviews. =P
Ciao!

Gameplay (10/10):

The overworld gaming is something akin to the Banjo adventures. Tons of secrets, side-quests, and items to collect, all over the game.  The actual battles are fast-paced and exciting, unlike many traditional RPGs, in which the battles are the main focus of the game, too! Shortly after the
Prologue, you receive the Lucky Star. With this, you can preform Action Commands. Like in Super Mario RPG, the attacks, when timed correctly do
double the damage (usually). But unlike SMRPG, the HPs for all characters in this game are low, as the highest is 99, and damages rarely surface above 5 or 10
for each attack until late in the game, where Bowser can do like 40.
This is better in some aspects, but if you’re not good at timing things, this game will be hard. Also, there are effects such as poison, shock, sleep, ect,
but they are poorly implemented, and will merely annoy you at one point in the game, and that is those d**n purple koopas in the sewers. But what Paper Mario
does perfectly is the fact that the adventuring is balanced perfectly with the battles. I would have loved to see NPC areas and enemy areas mixed, but that
was most likely a limitation of the N64 programming itself.
Onto the items, that is almost a game unto itself. Once you give the cookbook to Tayce T. in Toad Town, you are able to combine two items to see if they can
create an all-new food. Since many items are rare, or found in one area, to complete this quest (Food mixing is actually a quest to complete =O), you’ll have
to trek through basically the entire Mushroom Kingdom (well, the part of it you can travel in)!
This game follows also in Supe rMario 64′s footsteps and has puzzles. LOTS of puzzles. Some of them are quite easy, like in Shy Guy’s Toybox, but by Bowser’s
Castle, you’ll see some of the weirdest and most fun ones in nearly any MArio game, period. The entire first 1/4 of the 7th world is centered completely on
solving a murder mystery in town, too.
Because this is an Intelligent Systems game, you will see the best writing and character designs this side of Batman: the Animated Series. In this game,
due to time constraints, the translation isn’t nearly as funny as the sequel’s, but you will see tons of good laughs throughout your travels.

Overall: Perfect? Quite Possibly. I see almost no flaws in the gameplay whatsoever.

Graphics (10/10):

Paper Mario was criticized before it came out by fans of Super Mario RPG, because of its drastic change from pre-rendered awesomeness to 2D designs
that were cartoony. but looking back, you’ll automatically see the fact that this new style of design was much better than the crude 3D models of the N64
era. Intelligent Systems was actually able to put character and animation into their designs. the huge array of enemy types was even better in the fact it
only had a few recolor enemies, something hardcore RPG fans were not used to seeing. I think Paper Mario has the best 2D graphics on the system, if not THE
best.

Sound (10/10):

It made me torrent the soundtrack. Seriously, it’s good. The sound effects are also great, because of their over-the-top cartooniness. Especially
those badges that makes stupid sounds when you use the hammer =P Anyway, Mario is also silent for the only time in 3D Mario history, and I like it better
that way, at least for Paper Mario. It took me a while to get used to Mario’s voice being in future titles in this series.

Challenge (10/10):

Completely epic boss fights. The puzzles were already hard, and then you get hit by something epic like Huff N. Puff. You actually have to *gasp*
strategize with your badges and items! Unthinkable in an RPG! =P

Frustration (5/10):

Oh yeah. Speaking of those boss fights, uhh… get ready to die a few times. But besides them, you don’t really get pushed around all too much. The Lavalava
Island Volcano is pretty hard if your level isn’t high enough, but not too hard.

(Frustration is not counted past the score of 4)

Replayablity(10/10):

You have to try and get every badge, every cooking combo, every sidequest done, all star pieces, everything. It takes hundreds of millions of years to do
this, usually, but it it SO worth it. Going through the game again is always fun (except the prologue), too.

Value:

It’s for 10 bucks on Virtual Console. So in Cruis’n USA. Go figure. =P

(Value is not counted in final score)

Final Score:

54/54. 100% 10/10.

Is this the best Mario game of all time? Perhaps. In my opinion.. Well, you’ll have to see, in an upcoming About Me article on the Backblog. But this game
is perfect in almost every way. I have thought for a long time that you could never ever improve this games’ formula in any way. If you do not buy this
game immeadiately, you are slowly rotting away, missing out on a game like this.

Thanks for reading my review. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for the next reviews I do, PM me at nintendo City, or comment on an article
at the Backblog, at http://ncbblog.wordpress.com/ . It’s off for me to do… something else. Oh yeah, read my comic The Mushroom Kingdom at
http://tmk.smackjeeves.com/ , it is what inspired me to write so many of these dang Mario reviews. =P
Ciao!

Someone steals Kirby’s strawberry shortcake, and he assumes it’s Dedede’s fault. After beating the guy down, he finds out it’s the work of the Squeaks, a group of mouse bandits. so he goes and pursues the rats, collecting
treasure along the way. And somehow, Dark Matter also gets involved in a completely overused and confusing way, as usual.

Gameplay:

Each Kirby game since Super Star has had a certain gimmick, adn this game’s premise sounds a whole bunch like the much-loved gimmick from Kirby 64, where you can combine powers to get even better ones. In
Squeak Squad, bubbles wil appear as power-ups, items, or treasure chests. The bubbles will appear on the touch screen, and you can combine power-up bubbles or items to get better items. With power-ups, however,
the gimmick loses everything, because combining power-ups just randomizes the pwoer-up, like in other Kirby games when you suck up two different pwoer-ups at the same time. So the main gimmick of the game is
lame. The only new thing about this game is the amount of new power-ups. There’s the bubble wand, which acts like the laser from previous games, and then the animal suit, which allows you to dig through certain
areas, the metal suit, which makes you invincible but extremely heavy, and the extremely hard-to-unlock ghost power-up. None of these are very relevant to the main game, however, which is basically Spring
Breeze-meets-Great Cave Offensive, Kirby Superstar-wise. Way too easy, but lots of treasure. Not too impressive….

6/10

Graphics:

The Backgrounds and CG graphics are aweing, but the tiles and character sprites are defnitely GBA. Not that those original sprites were any bad, though.

8/10

Sound:

Great music, as always. Same sounds as GBA, but isn’t that always the case in Kirby?

8/10

Challenge:

Really easy. Like, on extreme levels. I can’t even go into detail about how easy this game is.

0/10

Frustration:

You will be frustrated when you have to go through one of those lame 2-minute levels because you missed one treasure.

3/10

(Frustration scores do not count after 4)

Replayability:

The sub-games are as forgettable as ever, but the treasure hunting is awesome, and the treasures themselves are sometimes pretty cool.

10/10

Value:

Worth about $10 bucks US. You wil not find it for that much. This is a Nintendo game.

2/10

(Value not counted)

Overall: 6.5/10
also 6.4, 64.814%, or 35/54.

Sad, but true. This game is just mediocre. Not good, not bad. Kirby fans will have something to like, but if you’re not one, then be wary about this purchase. Consider looking at Kirby Super Star Ultra or the Kirby GBA
games. Heck, even Kirby’s Adventure on Virtual Console is much better than this! Why is this review so short, anyway? You’d think I’d be criticizing it more often =P

Thanks for reading my review. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for the next reviews I do, PM me at nintendo City, or comment on an article
at http://ncbblog.wordpress.com/ . It’s off for me to do… something else. Oh yeah, read my comic The Mushroom Kingdom at http://tmk.smackjeeves.com/ , it
is what inspired me to write so many of these dang Mario reviews. =P
Ciao!

Gameplay (8/10)

No minus zone, though that’s not a huge problem, duh. Though you’d think that in the remake, they’d spice up
the gameplay at least a little bit, but no. the NEs collision detection is the same. That means you can survive
on edges that don’t look like you should be able to make, and the dreaded shell will kill you way too much.

Graphics (9/10):
The anmations are too faithful to the original; they have the exact same amount of poses and everything! But
while the enemy sprites are really bad, the rest of the game, especially the backgrounds and static objects,
are extremely well-done.

Sound (10/10):
The arrangements of the 4 SMB tunes (along with an all-new title track) are amazing. The steel drums own all
else!

Challenge (6/10):
Meh. World 8 is  moderately hard, but with the continue option, you no longer have to worry about starting from
the beginning every time you die, unless you put in a certain code.

Frustration (3/10):
See above category. The auto-coninue option works wonders for this game.

(anything past 4 not counted)

Replayability (9/10):

SMB is the original Pick-up-&-play game, not in arcade. You can get all the way through to World 8 in less than
10 minutes if you know how. and the save option included lets you pick up from whatever world you left off on,
or
Amazing game.

Value (/10):
Ehh, I’d have to judge the whole pack to be able to do that. And this isn’t. But all 5 games sell for a total of
29 dollars US on Virtual Console. If you find SMAS+SMW for less, just say, “DO WANT” and buy it! I found a
copy of SMAS (Which has a VC value of 21 dollars US) for 5 bucks US. Pure win.

(Value not factored into final score)

Overall (8/10):
also 45/54, 8.3, or 83.3%.

This is a very good remake, at least for 17 years ago. What I want to see is SMAS+SMW updated with all of their
Super Mario Advance/Super Mario Bros. DX features, and with Super Street Fighter Turbo HD Remix-esque artwork
for the sprites. I’d buy that even if it were a full $60 bucks.

Thanks for reading my review. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for the next reviews I do, PM me at nintendo City, or comment on an article
at http://ncbblog.wordpress.com/ . It’s off for me to do… something else. Oh yeah, read my comic The Mushroom Kingdom at http://tmk.smackjeeves.com/ , it
is what inspired me to write so many of these dang Mario reviews. =P
Ciao!