Video Game Review
Banjo-Kazooie
Nintendo 64
1998
Developer: Rareware
Publisher: Nintendo

When the Nintendo 64 launched, they set the bar of 3D platformers way too high. Super Mario 64 was available from day one and it set everyone’s imagination on fire on the possibilities within a truly 3D landscape. After Mario though, there was a bunch of garbage. Players may have been dreaming up innovation but developers were perplexed on how to move platformers into the 3D dimension. Many were poor copycats of Mario while others were simply gimped copycats of Mario. Then Rare decided to make a game like Mario but bigger and have much more to do. Banjo-Kazooie is one of the biggest adventure games on the Nintendo 64. Sometimes bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better and for a lot that Banjo-Kazooie has going for it, it misses the boat on plenty as well.

The story plays out sort of like every Nintendo adventure game: the hero must save someone who was kidnapped by an evil figure. Banjo and Kazooie are the heroes, Tooty (Banjo’s sister) is the damsel in distress) and Grunty the witch is the evildoer. Banjo and Kazooie head to Grunty’s castle to save Tooty and must traverse through different environments to find items that will unlock paths leading deeper into the castle.

Puzzle pieces are collected after completeing a particular task and accumulating enough will open a new level. Musical notes collected in a level will allow for new paths to be opened in the castle. The last major item to collect in each level are Jinjos. Collecting all five Jinjos will give you a puzzle piece.

The Nintendo 64 controller was built with Mario 64 in mind and Banjo-Kazooie is similar to Mario 64, the controls benefit greatly due to controller. The analog stick moves Banjo around. The A button makes Banjo jump and the B button makes Banjo attack. The C buttons control the camera. As you progress through the game, you learn new techniques which require you to press multiple button combinations at the same time. This is way easier than it sounds and controlling Banjo and Kazooie becomes second nature. The moves are fun too (beak stomping enemies never gets old). The controls feel so natural that you forget that you have a controller in your hands until they cramp up due to the poor ergonomic design of the unit.

This leads to our first problem though; the controls aren’t as responsive as they should be. More than often there is a slight delay after inputting a command. This is more noticeable in the later stages of the game due to the precision needed to complete some tasks. The camera doesn’t help matters as it sometimes has a mind of its own. If this game is supposed to mimic a lot from Mario 64’s design, it doesn’t make sense that they went backwards in controls and camera design. These problems don’t make the game unplayable but they do lead to some frustrating moments.

The game shines on the overall design. The levels are huge worlds with plenty to explore and discover. There are plenty of little things that the game does that you wouldn’t normally expect a game to allow. If you see a window, you probably can break it. Granted, you see that more and more in games nowadays but for the time period, it was innovative. It’s little things like that which make Banjo-Kazooie so much fun. It forces you to explore every little nook and cranny of a level. The levels are so large that some take well over half an hour to complete.

While the game is fun for it’s enormous size, it can also lead to some “controller-throwing” moments. The overworld hub is so large that its easy to get lost and not know where to proceed next. Since the overworld only serves as a way to go from level to level, there’s no reason it needs to be so large or tiresome. Also, the game doesn’t give you much of an option when it comes to saving. If you leave a level, it will only save the amount of puzzle pieces you have found. Note and Jinjo totals are reset back to zero. The problem with this is that some levels are so large, this requires at times an investment of an hour of playing the game to accomplish without stopping. Don’t even think about losing a life because your note totals will reset if you lose a life. Losing a life more than once when you’re a few notes short of completion on a stage will definitely make you want to go nuts.

At least the game is pretty. It does well in areas where the Nintendo 64 normally fails. The game is plenty colourful; levels are not limited to millions of varieties of a limited palette of colours. All the colours can be represented in a level without limitation. The textures can look rather good most of the time. There’s the odd texture that may look blurry or disjointed but overall it looks really good. You’re in for a treat if you make your way to the top of a level’s area (if one is available) where you get to see some of the most impressive vistas in the 64-bit era. Standing on the top of a mountain and looking down gives the sense on just how big and grand the levels are.

There are some graphical issues though. Texture blurring has also been mentioned but a much bigger problem is the draw distance. This problem is unique in that while most N64 games has trouble rendering images beyond a certain point in some instances (which is usually corrected by fogging the area so the distortions can’t be seen), Banjo-Kazooie has viewable area within a vast distance but the objects in those area cannot be seen or are in the wrong place. This means that if you are looking down and towards a distant valley, you may not see anything in terms of items or enemies or you might but they could be displayed in the wrong position relative to their actual position. This happens a bit during the game when you’re trying to collect notes in areas where they are not. One level notorious for this is the level “Clanker’s Cavern” where there are notes that appear as if they are underwater when in fact they are actually on a ledge high above the water. Luckily, these draw distance issues don’t handicap the player’s experience by causing dire problems but they are a source of aggravation. It makes an otherwise fantastic feast for the eyes less enjoyable.

Banjo-Kazooie is a lot of fun if you can get past the glitches in the game. It’s too bad that that Rare didn’t spend more time working the bugs out of the game because this game had so much potential. It’s a good game but it stumbles under the weight of its own ambitious goals. It tried to take over from what Mario 64 started but in the end it dropped the ball.

☆☆☆☆

‘The year 1999, seventh month,
From the sky will come a great King of Terror.
To bring back to life the great King of the Mongols,
Before and after Mars to reign by good luck.’
~ Nostradamus, 17th Century

When the year 1999 is mentioned, what do you remember about it most? Who topped the music charts? (He really did!) Where you were when the clock struck 12? Scary predictions? The Millennium Bug? Planes falling out of the sky? Your microwave not working in the morning? The end of the world? Or just where you were going to get your next pint from amidst huge queues in a packed venue?

At an age of naive adolescence (13 years old), I have to admit that it was a scary time, personally. As the latter parts of the year drew closer, I stopped using the word ‘end’ in fear that it’d encourage the demise of our planet and felt a constant gloomy atmosphere and tension, as if a Satanic hawk was circling its futile prey, armed and ready to pounce. Reading the above Nostradamus quatrain in TV Quick did not do me any favours either (which now eerily resembles the September 11th atrocities in 2001. Not far off, was he?), to which I remember consulting my brother in panic that eternal death was imminent. In retrospect, my outrageous fears and thoughts were entirely unrealistic and, well, nuts. As soon as the clock hit 12am on New Year’s Eve at my cousins’ (champagne in hand), I fully expected the ground to start shaking, an eternal solar eclipse leaving the world in a perpetual darkness , and Mr. Death to come knocking for us.

Alas, we’re all still here, Death and his three mates didn’t call, planes didn’t fall out of the sky and, thankfully, the microwave survived. Chicago Town pizza consumption would continue well into the next decade without a hitch! Phew.

Rewind slightly more to July 1999 (was Nostradmus simply predicting a videogame, afterall?), and it’s no wonder I was soiling myself. Little more than a month prior, the now defunct Acclaim Teesside had finished polishing up and dusting off their monster apocalyptic action/adventure game ShadowMan, which was none too hesitant in cashing in on the End Of All-Things. Not only did the chaps in Middlesbrough conjure up a sprawling world of prophetic suffering that fools such as myself were fearing, buyers had little more than four months in which to complete it before discovering their Millennium fate. A harsh move by the publishers, given that the game was reported to take around 50-70 hours to complete!

To put into an industry context, ShadowMan was often unfairly compared with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time, which needs no introduction unless you’ve been sucking bacteria off rocks in a cave for the last 14 years. Touted as the ‘Dark Zelda’ by N64 Magazine and probably everyone else, the prolific-at-the-time Acclaim were under substantial pressure to deliver, what with titles such as Super Mario 64, Metal Gear Solid, Banjo-Kazooie, Tomb Raider and, er, Sonic Adventure leading the way in the relatively new 3D free-roaming, adventure genre. Having reportedly been in developement for as long as Ocarina of Time, it ought to have been at least ‘good’ for it to justify the care and attention it received from its fathers. And, much like Shigeru Miyamoto and co’s aforementioned pixie-infested masterpiece, it also ought to be just as playable now as it was then.

Unfortunately for the Nintendo 64 version, and no doubt the God-awful PlayStation attempt (read: not ‘version’. It was virtually unplayable, bless), time has not been on ShadowMan’s side. The acceptable jerky framerates and muddy textures of the yesteryear just can’t be tolerated any more, much to my disappointment.* And the less said about highly temperamental third party N64 Memory Paks, the better. Nevertheless, the Dreamcast version still holds up remarkably well, erasing memories of a framerate dodgier than David James and graphics that looked almost as bad as Birmingham’s bus station. Through an RGB cable on a 26″ Samsung LCD TV, it looks exactly how my rosy, fuzz-infected memory serves me, which was not only a relief but also led to a (very) minor celebratory air-punch that getting a Dreamcast and spending extra on the cable wasn’t such a waste of time after all.

Highway to Hell. Praying in that distant church won't help a jot, sorry

Right, the game itself then. If you know what it’s about, feel free to skip the next paragraph; if not, read on:

Mere mortal Mike LeRoi nicked $20k from a bunch of gangsters ‘unknowingly’ (it was left in the back of a taxi), they got angry and shot up his parents and younger brother Luke. Randomly (the explanation is more than sketchy), a half dead LeRoi somehow gets roped into an apocalyptic scenario in which voodoo maestro Mama Nettie insists that it’s up to him to save the world from certain death after having a bad post-sex dream (a rare occurrence, so it must have been serious!). Nettie reports that five invulnerable-to-Liveside blokes are on the rampage, out to deal evil Legion’s dastardly plan of worldwide destruction, pain and suffering before the new Millennium dawns.  For some reason (maybe they’re just angry). Therefore it’s up to LeRoi to travel to Deadside via Luke’s teddy bear (eh?) to gather essential voodoo items and power via Dark Souls in order to prevent the End Of All-Things and kick The Five’s and Legion’s arses.

Does the way that links together sound a bit tenuous to you? Balls to it, you won’t care the moment you shoot some dogs in the face in Nettie’s church’s graveyard and hit Deadside to find a complex and wonderfully sprawling adventure ahead of you. Weak and pathetic as Shadow Man might be initially, it’s fully satisfying towards the end when you realise how far you’ve come, so don’t be put off by the lack of uber graphics and achievements/trophies (depending on which way you swing).

Despite ten years of gaming developments, improvements and failures since the release of ShadowMan, it’s crucial to note that first and foremost the handling of LeRoi feels as unique as it ever did. While previous and future characters in games tend to feel feather-light and unconvincing, the bloke with shades and the Mask Of Shadows implanted in his chest feels as awkward and unpredictable as operating a human surely would be. Although it was frustrating at the time, in the current age’s constant striving for ultimate realism you can easily appreciate what Acclaim Teesside were trying to achieve. There are no double jumps, mad divings or flying here, you can do about as much as, well, you could, albeit without the same voodoo powers and muscular strength. I admit, I doubt I could shimmy as Shadow Man does or hoist myself from a wall in quite the same way (2:18).

Without heaping too much praise on the character physics, let it be known that as you encounter the more tricky sections of Deadside it can get mighty annoying as you misjudge simple jumps, thus often leading Mr. LeRoi to an untimely fiery death. Moreover, particularly during the final Gad Temple, where the platforming aspect of the adventure hots up (heh, cheap pun there), Shadow Man’s ability to run, walk and climb how you want him to takes a turn for the worse, handling no better than a Rolo’s sticky interior (no, not that Rolo). Aside from these minor inconveniences, which in turn ramps up the difficulty, the Lord of the Deadside’s ‘feel’ remains rather unique, and pleasingly so. However, it’s at-the-time revolutionary ‘circle strafe’ combat style, where you could ‘lock-on’ Zelda-stylee up to two enemies at once, while great throughout the minor parts of the game, makes an absolute mockery of The Five’s clumsy AI; sections of the game that are meant to provide climatic, dramatic and somewhat tough moments for the player. In practice, the feature ended up being too good, where circling the ‘mighty’ Lizard King resulted in a somewhat comical event, as opposed to the tension-filled drama it should’ve been.

Premise and mechanics revision out of the way, how does the gameplay itself hold up with today’s (and the last decade’s) gaming benchmarks? Truly attempting to avoid my affection for the game, I’d say fantastically well. Games nowadays are increasingly forcing a ’sandbox’ (’sandpit’ to us Brits?) format upon us, where the player can toy with the protagonist wherever and however they wish within a limited yet large playing area. ShadowMan however adopted the sprawling, varied, multi-scene format of old, where it was essential to the game’s structure that you collect certain items to help you unlock new areas. While the ‘collect-a-thon’ is better disguised nowadays with the alledged ‘freedom’ (see Crackdown) of the sandbox genre, that old feeling of progression has been lost along the way. In a sense, playing ShadowMan again is refreshing, where the collecting of Dark Souls in order to penetrate Coffin Gates is surprisingly still a rewarding ‘chore’. While you can visit anywhere you fancy in sandbox titles, in ShadowMan you cannot. The game teases you when you stumble upon skin-locked Coffin Gates that you do not have the power, or right, to open on first encounter. It’s as if they’re telling you that you’re not good enough yet, that you’ve left previous areas that require your attention first, before you’re worthy enough to  grace your presence on the next challenge.

While that may sound like Facist linearity in comparison with today’s generous ‘open book’ games, it really isn’t as simple as that. Ultimately, it’s still the same premise of go anywhere, do what you wish, yet it’s hidden within the realms of a dark, claustrophobic and, most importantly, interesting environment. For example, the five serial killers are five out of six of the game’s major bosses and, providing Nettie’s impaled you with a fully-constructed L’Clipser, you can dispatch of the twisted scumbags in any order you wish.

Corpse blimey! This is a Schism, Shadow Man's form of Deadside/Liveside transport when his teddy can't hack it

And it’s this level of arguably truer freedom that’s missing from even today’s most critically acclaimed titles. Ultimately, the requirement for the player’s own initiative has gone. While sometimes frustrating at the lack of clue of where to venture next (I admit to infrequently consulting a guide) after walking into a Coffin Gate that’s ‘lolling its arse off’ at your pithy incompetence, it’s entirely down to you to get the game going again. What’s more is that ShadowMan doesn’t badger you with constant bloody cut-scenes every time you walk round a corner (Metal Gear Solid, Gears of War, Resident Evil, Grand Theft Auto, I’m looking at the lotta you!) like a nagging mother reminding you your tea’s getting cold, because ShadowMan’s gameplay tells you the story itself, rather than spoon-feeding you with tedious voice ‘acted’ sequences that you couldn’t give a stuff about. Don’t be mistaken, ShadowMan isn’t that old, it does have these cut-scenes, but only when they’re actually required, rather when you’ve achieved something, as opposed to have stumbled across yet another lifeless character or something of that minor ilk. Games of today, probably spearheaded by Hideo Kojima’s filmic ‘influences’, have lost their sole purpose as games rather then movies. Metal Gear Solid 4 being the prime example, with over a football (soccer) match’s-worth of movie. But that’s a separate rant entirely.

Speaking of character (a few lines up), ShadowMan certainly isn’t Verne Troyer of it. Where it may now be lacking on the visual front, it is still strikingly haunting on the audio side. From the subtle distant church bell chimes in the opening sections of Bayou Paradis to the twisted Deutsch-twanged mutterings of Dr. Victor Karl Batrachian (aka The Lizard King) at the possessed Gardelle County Jail. There’s never a dull moment for the ears, which is remarkable for its age, considering ‘blockbuster’ titles of today, whose focus tends to be on fully orchestrated pieces married with true-to-life sound effects.

There’s truly no escape from being on-edge, particularly during the most psychologically offending sections, such as the still-incredibly atmospheric hunt of Avery Marx, also known as the slightly misleadingly titled ‘Home Improvement Killer’. Your pursuit of the dog whistle-toned nutter begins in the depths of some tenements in New York, where only a torch can help prevent you from actually soiling yourself. Shadow Man’s echoing footsteps accompany a screechy and lingering aural atmosphere, creating a potent mix of tension while you apprehensively reinact a game of katze und maus. And every once in a while you’ll receive a ‘pleasant’ surprise, accompanied with a ‘Hereeeee’s Johnny!’ and a few bullets in your face courtesy of one fifth of The Five. Of course, you’re never totally certain when Mr. Marx is going to pounce, and while on the hunt for goodies it’s often unnerving at the very least. To exacerbate matters, our Apocalypse-stopping hero will stumble across some of the ‘work’ of Marx, where rotting corpses ’sit’ in chairs, cradling audio recordings of their deaths. While the graphics cannot convince entirely, the sheer visual imagery of the butchering of these innocent folk conjured up in your mind does all the picture-painting for you. Even at the time ShadowMan was deemed more a psychological scare-fest than an outlandishly violent one and, a decade later it still retains that quality, which has only recently been matched by EA’s excellent Resident Evil-esque Dead Space. A great accomplishment for the Teessider’s there, without a shadow (sorry!) of a doubt. The sheer amount of audio ‘pleasure’ still to be had with ShadowMan means it could dictate a whole feature alone, but with an ever-increasing word count I’ll leave you to enjoy the delights of the Playrooms.

That wallpaper make you think 'Toy Story'? You'll think again when you work out what those cubes spell... Unless that's how you'd describe Pixar's masterpiece

Without wanting to heap more praise on the game’s aural pleasures as northern boys do gravy on their roast dinners, the voice acting simply had to receive some plaudits as well. Yes, plaudits. Even now giving characters voices is still yet to be mastered, but ShadowMan had it well and truly licked from start to finish. From the opening ramblings of Jack The Ripper to the closing jibes of Legion, with the Irish charms of Jaunty inbetween, the work of Guy Miller et al needs to be appreciated beyond the physical realms of the adventure. Quite often nowadays, we’re ‘treated’ to ‘great’ scenes such as the unconvincing rages of Gears of War 2’s Dom. A few dodgy lines, perhaps to save disc space (Jack The Ripper seems too quick to agree to Legion’s plans in the opening sequence, for example), and the visual’s inability to lip-sync aside, it’s entirely convincing the whole journey. The lyrical waxings of LeRoi’s Deadside travels voiced by Red Pepper perfectly fit his character, while the ghostly echoes of brother Luke each time you teddyport (skip to 5:14) to a location of choice haunt without fail. If that doesn’t creep you out a little, then your mind isn’t active enough!

The rich character of ShadowMan stretches even further, owing to the subtle details that otherwise go unnoticed in many games of today. Nettie’s File (apparently based on genuine FBI documents) and Jack’s Journal, both found in your inventory, add rich texture to the already sickly sweet world. Furthermore, where popular culture will often dictate that French is the language of love, Acclaim of 1999 insisted otherwise. French to them, and indeed the Prophecy, is the language of The End Of All-Things, adding a greater sense of believability, for want of a better word. The many life-increasing ‘Cadeux’ dotted around Liveside and Deadside provide a better name for ‘gifts’; the ‘Flambeau’ is instantly more appealing than, er, ‘torch’; and ‘LeRoi’ gives the protagonist some delightful substance, as he on a frankly-delayed realisation, is ‘the king’, and is no ordinary hero after all!

Jack's Journal; providing that spooky authentic attention to detail. Here's how a True Form's made

Admittedly, the following few paragraphs were intended to be filled with criticisms and drawbacks, but truly, there aren’t many to list even after all this time. Firstly, the Dreamcast version’s abrupt and clumsy disc-reading can often take you from immersed space and snap you ‘back in the room’ all too often, where entering different areas, most notably in the Cathedral of Pain, where each of The Five have their own ‘theme’, can end the game’s ambience quicker than a bullet to the brain as the console scrambles around to find the correct level music. Secondly, while the bulk of the game bathes you in a deep and nervy scenario, you can’t help but feel let down once you encounter the ‘important’ bits. Each showdown with The Five is delightfully met with a short cutscene and dialogue, but once the insults and threats are over, each subsequent battle is as anti-climatic as a McDonald’s ‘meal’, where the feeling of being shortchanged and over too quickly is all too familiar, even at the very end with Legion himself. It renders the excellent build-up almost pointless, leaving you feeling as disappointed as you were when leaving the cinema after the final Matrix film. Thirdly, not having a clue. Unless you cling to the game like a starving leech, you will lose track of where you were supposed to go next, leaving you wandering around aimlessly in fading hope that you’ll find that bloody elusive Dark Soul in order to progress to the next area that’s taunted you like Nelson Muntz for about two days! Consulting a guide is your best bet for a push in the right direction, yet even then it’s an effort to match your progress with a guide’s, what with the game’s generously open nature. But that’s hardly a criticism really.

If you couldn’t be arsed to read the above…

…I wouldn’t blame you. However, in short, ShadowMan, minus its graphical demise, is still as pleasingly sprawling and deep as it ever was. Much of the kudos belongs to the atmosphere created by its audio, thus highlighting how important sound is to creating a convincing playing environment. Without the congratulatory tribal-like item-finding music, the crying babies of the Lavaducts, the religious chanting of the cathedrals or the howling of Deadside’s weakest residents, to name but a few of so, so many; the sheer depth and immersiveness just couldn’t be accomplished without it all today. Yet it still can, and that’s ShadowMan’s greatest accomplishment. Forget the tired graphics and aging controls, ShadowMan is all about pulling you in for 20 hours or so (not the 50-70 Acclaim originally claimed; nay mind), challenging your patience, taking you on a long, rewarding journey and messing with your psychological stability. All that and more, and to be called a pillock at the end, simply isn’t rivalled by even some the best of today!

——————————————————————–

*Which acted as a catalyst for the purchase of my Dreamcast back in June. God bless eBay, as I managed to haggle a boxed console, complete with cables, a Visual Memory Unit, a rumble pack thingy, three controllers and eleven games for a mere SEVEN POUNDS! Plus £12 postage, but that bit’s unimportant right?

One of the things I have an overabundance of happens to be unfinished games. They kinda just pile up over the years and for the most part I didn’t really care whether I’d gotten around to beating them or not. The advent of The Backloggery has changed that somewhat. I’m still kinda lazy about it, but I at least try to get some knocked down. And one of the many games I have yet to trash thoroughly happens to be Super Mario 64. Seeing as how said game is what really sold the Nintendo 64 for me (well, at least before The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time came out anyway), I figured it was about time I got around to changing its status. And then I decided that I should write a blog post about it once I’d managed to complete the game since I haven’t talked about anything in the past month or so. Such a naive assumption… I started up a new game of Super Mario 64 on the 15th of September. I have yet to finish it. It may take another month, it may even take longer than that. I was doing so well too, chugging right along, and then I ran straight into the roadblock known as Rainbow Ride. Actually, no, let me call it by its real name: Rainbow Hell. This is probably the level that made most players want to break their cartridges in half and forget that this game ever existed. But asides from that particular aspect, it’s still a good game in its own right, so I might as well write a post up about it anyway.

Let’s start with the basics. Super Mario 64 is a nifty 3D platformer that came out in 1996. It had been out for awhile before I chanced upon it at the local Blockbuster. Back then the store had both a Nintendo 64 and a Sega Saturn out on the floor for people to preview a game from each system on. Of course, both systems were locked down and in plain view of the checkout desk, so they weren’t taking too big of a chance there. For several months the choice to play was either NiGHTS Into Dreams or Super Mario 64. Both were eyecatching games, but Mario had a bit more luck with me since I was already familiar with the franchise thanks to the NES and SNES. I loved it. The objectives were there, but how you achieved them was up to you. I’d never been a very big fan of the original Mario setup. The linear and timed levels just weren’t very appealing to me. With Super Mario 64 I could go where ever I wanted to and do the vast majority of the game’s goals in any order I wished to. Sure, there were a few limitations (some doors needed a set number of stars before they’d open, some doors needed keys that you’d have to fight Bowser for, etc.), but overall I could do whatever I wanted to. I was sold. And then I never got around to beating it. Why? Well, let’s just say I am easily distracted when a game is annoying the hell out of me. It was 1996, Chrono Trigger had come out just the year before. I played through that game at least twice a year for the remainder of the 90s. Final Fantasy VII came out a year later in ‘97 and was an enormous time sink, if I do say so myself. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night trotted out a month after that, and then The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time finally graced us with its presence. I can easily say that the only time that cartridge was removed from my N64 was when Majora’s Mask came out, and then was promptly put back in a month or so later. So yeah, it’s easy to see why I lost interest in Mario 64. That’s not to say it isn’t a great game (it is), it’s just not the type of game I’m a big fan of.

But enough of that, let’s talk about the actual game now. While I highly doubt Super Mario 64 was the first of its kind (at the very least, PC gaming tended to be ahead of the pack back then, so to speak), but what it did it did well. Mostly. It was colorful and for a 3D game it wasn’t all that blocky. The controls were easy to figure out, dare I say intuitive, and frankly it was just damn fun to play. The music, while not incredibly memorable for me, didn’t make me want to rip the television’s speakers out either. Overall, it was just a great game, or at least you’d think so. Unfortunately, there were a few detraction, and since I said I’d rant about it to a few of you, let’s just go ahead and get it over with.

The camera. Super Mario 64 is a 3D platformer. At the very least, it required a movable camera. And yes, they did put one in. However, it’s a very, very, very good thing that they’ve improved upon it since then. I’m not going to compare it to games that came out afterward, but the bottom line is that a lot of the difficulty in Super Mario 64 came from that damn camera. Artificial difficulty, if you will. It would move around in a 360 degree angle like you’d expect for this kind of game, but then it would stop and you’d have to go back around. Or there would be something in the way and you couldn’t get past the obstacle. Or you were in an enclosed place and it wouldn’t even rotate 90 degrees. And even when you could get the full rotation, you could never get it in the particular angle you’d need it to be in. I can’t tell you how many missed jumps I’ve had thanks to that limitation. In fact, I don’t even want to think about it, lest I start raging and don’t stop. Suffice it to say, it sucked. It still sucks. And will always suck. A great deal of the difficulty in the game can be accredited to that damn camera. Is it the worst thing ever? No, but it sure isn’t good. Nor very helpful either. And that’s all we’ll say on the subject.

I’m not entirely sure, but I think Super Mario 64 was the first in the series to feature a central hub (the castle) from which you could reach all the other levels and courses in the game. I’ve heard a bit of complaining that the series has gotten into a bit of a rut thanks to that, but it’s not a bad setup and at the time it was quite refreshing. It’s always nice to have choices and Mario 64’s castle loved giving them to you. How ’bout we start out with some grass, simple plateaus and stuff that will blow you up. Bob-omb Battlefield is the perfect place for that sort of picnic. How ’bout some swimming, pirate ships and giant eels that want to eat you? Jolly Roger Bay is waiting for you. Prefer the cold? Cool, Cool Mountain and Snowman’s Land are right up your alley. Want to do some lava diving? Lethal Lava Land is right beneath your feet. Like the desert and pyramids? Head on over to Shifting Sand Land and watch your step, quicksand is a killer. Like messing with Boos? They’re in the back. Mountains, weirdly sized islands and odd water draining puzzles? Keep going up. The clock? It’s near the top. Want to discover the truly sinister side of rainbows? No worries, Rainbow Hell is waiting for you.

Mario is still mostly the same: a short little guy sporting a mustache and dressed in overalls who like to jump on stuff. Jumping is the bread and butter of getting around in the game and hopefully not dying. In addition to that, Mario can now punch stuff, kick it and butt-stomp it if necessary. but that’s not all! Yes, he still gets power ups. This time around they are in the form of new hats that confer different abilities. The Wing Cap lets him fly like he’s dead drunk for a short amount of time, the Metal Cap allows him to sink like a stone in water, and the Vanish cap allows him to turn immaterial and thus walk through wire walls. Not exactly the best power ups ever, but they get the job done. Unless it’s the Wing Cap and then maybe you’ll get the job done after multiple attempts. Why yes, Super Mario 64 continued the tradition of incredibly stupid attempts at flying in the series. It could have been worse, I’m sure, but that’s not saying much.

The usual enemies made the transition to 3D rather well. The Goombas were nice and squishable, the very few Koopa Troopers are nice enough to hand over their shells for surfing on after a small amount of harassment, the Bob-ombs like blowing you up, the Lakitu in Rainbow Hell likes throwing spikeys at you (and that’s as much as I will discuss details of THAT course), the Boos are still cowards and will only chase you when your back is turned, the Chain Chomp is freaking huge, the Pirana Plants still want to snack on you, and there’s even a Bullet Bill. Bowser, of course, returns and is pretty much as lame as he usually is. He is a bit more frustrating in his 64 incarnation though. It’s not that he’s hard, you just run around to his back, grab his tail, swing him around and then throw him into a bomb at the edge of his platform. Of course, hitting one of the bombs is the trick as aiming can be something of a pain in the ass. Not exactly hard, just tedious. He also like spitting fireballs at you, teleporting a short distance, and stomping the ground to create shockwaves. But despite all that, aiming for the damn bombs is really the hardest part. Then again, has Bowser ever been hard?

Is Super Mario 64 a good game? Yes. Is it an annoying game? Oh hell yes, but it’s still worth playing and still fun for the most part. Completing it is going to be a severe pain in the ass, but I’ll manage it. Eventually. And it’s nice to go back and see what all they’ve improved upon since then (like the camera!). I’d definitely say it’s deserving of most of the praise it gets… and probably most of the complaints (why yes, the camera again). I think it was an excellent evolution for the series, and certainly a good milestone for gaming in the 90s.

Would-be videogame critics plough their way through mountains of bad games, studiously chattering away at their keyboards; squinting and crying like kitchenhands dicing onions with dull blades, in the faint hope that by being faithful in the little things, they will one day land The Big One, or at the very least, the Good Game By Accident (as those assigned to reviewing Mini-Ninjas recently can no doubt appreciate).  Be careful what you wish for, Constant Reviewer; there is always someone waiting in the wings to hang, draw and quarter you for crimes against ‘their’ game.  One need look no further than last year for examples of this.  Grand Theft Auto IV got a perfect 10.0 from IGN, which was furore enough (I too, would argue that a 100-point scale is sufficient scope to adequately express less-than-perfection in a videogame), but the real pain came when Metal Gear Solid 4 received its 9.9 (I don’t know why game developers didn’t just pack it in and call it a day by this stage; perfection had just been achieved – TWICE, nearly – and where do you go from perfection?!), which Playstation 3 owners for some ridiculous reason took as a slight against ‘their’ system. In between spamming cries of ‘teh biased!’, did you ever stop to think how fortunate you were to have two ‘near-perfect’ videogames instead of one?  This is the kind of stupidity you’re up against when time comes for you to review a potentially great videogame.  And so it is with great trepidation that I come to this review of Nintendo’s classic game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

Watch out for the guards - they'll getcha!

There is no perfect introduction to this great work of art (yes, I just went there, and I don’t regret it in the slightest) that has ignited so many imaginations; a game that has danced in the minds of young children with magic and possibility. I know this because I rehearsed them all in my head a hundred times before I could even muster the curry to sit down and write this, and each one of them – in the nicest possible way – failed to encapsulate the full gamut of what this game represents to Gaming as a whole.  How do you review something that you know will outlive you? How do you review…a Legend?

Well, you can start by slinging a few tired cliches. Let’s call them ‘adages’ for legitimacy’s sake.  There are two adages that spring to mind when playing A Link to the Past:

“The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

AND

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Zelda games are 3-D now, but graphical updates aside, scant little of them have strayed from the indelible watermark set by this game.  It may as well be set in stone: the multi-level dungeons, the hookshot we all take forgranted, the Pegasus Boots, the MASTER SWORD, the Spin Attack, HYRULE CASTLE – THE HUB OF THE ENTIRE SERIES, Nintendo’s now-infamous Light World/Dark World theme (or in broader terms, travelling between two parallel worlds) – all emerged for the first time right here.  Even the fan-favourite Ocarina has its origins here, though the English translation yielded only the word ‘flute’ (presumably the Western gaming world was not yet ready for the word ‘ocarina’). Zelda’s musical landscape as you now know it – “Zelda’s Lullaby” (Princess Zelda’s Theme), “Ganondorf’s Theme”, “Hyrule Castle”, “Kakariko Village”, “Fairy Cave” (better known as THE SELECT SCREEN SONG) – was brought into being by Koji Kondo for this game. Even Link’s wide sword swing had its genesis in – you guessed it – A Link to the Past. So little has changed because so little needed changing. If any Zelda game or game *period* deserved a dubious 10.0, it was this one.

Speaking of dubious 10s, The Ocarina of Time is a sacred cow that I take great pleasure in sacrificing on a regular basis. Those familiar with this particular habit of mine; feel free to roll your eyes knowingly at this point.  But when the two games sit right next to each other on my Virtual Console, comparisons are going to be made.  Ocarina of Time is, for all intents and purposes, A Link to the Past in 3-D.  It was not the revolutionary trend-setter 19-year-old Nintendophiles claim it to be.  It’s barely evolutionary, and its ‘innovations’ – context-sensitive buttons; NAVI, YOUR HELPFUL FAIRY GUIDE – loathe as you may be to admit it, could well be the reason you have to sit through a compulsory three-minute tutorial before you can play Wii Sports Resort. The introduction of one of Gaming’s most irritating support characters was the first of many steps towards Nintendo’s long-term stupefication of the gaming population. Z-Targeting meant a lot to 3-D games, but only insofar as it made what was already a simple task in 2-D games tolerable on an additional axis. Like the fifth generation consoles themselves, the shift to 3-D was completely arbitrary. I don’t know what flavour Kool-Aid we were drinking, but all of a sudden we were willing to lay down Super Street Fighter II for Battle Arena Toshinden, Sonic 3 for Crash Bandicoot, Tetris for Tetrisphere.

And Link to the Past for Ocarina of Time.

Never mind the fact that these mechanics work better in two dimensions; never mind the garish, jagged, polygonal puppet show before you; it’s in 3-D, kids! I often wonder what might have been if Sega stuck to their 2-D guns instead of panicking and cramming a second CPU in there (alternate realities are the Last Bastion of Hope for the Displaced Sega Fan). Did we ever reach the pinnacle of 2-D game design? Allow that question to fill the air and let it breathe for a while.

Why do I feel the need to tear strips off Ocarina of Time – a great videogame adored by thousands (millions even?) – for a Link to the Past review?  Think of me as the critical Robin Hood, robbing the rich to feed the poor. Earlier I alluded to a very vocal segment of the gaming population, the circa-19-year-old gamer whose first videogame console was the Nintendo 64, to whom Ocarina of Time represents the dearest experience one can have with a controller (albeit an absolutely terrible one). To those people, please understand that it is not my desire to stomp all over your childhood memories, I merely seek to contextualise the pedestal you place them on. The fifth console generation coincided with the rise of the internet, and so unanimously lauded franchise entries reached critical mass very, very quickly. Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid, Super Mario 64, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time – all new entries to long-standing franchises; all made relatively successful transitions to the third dimension; all were the first of their respective series to appear on the fifth generation of consoles; all were hyped like hell on a worldwide scale by online and print media – all received unanimous critical praise, and all have been claimants to the title of “Greatest Game of All Time”. Gamers today are no strangers to “Sequel Syndrome”, nor its dark brother “sequelitis”, and so I’m sure you can appreciate the powerful effect this had when unleashed on the international consciousness for the first time. Again, that’s not to belittle the achievements of these great titles, but the fifth generation of console owners had found their international voice for the first time, and that voice was saying “[Franchise Sequel X] is the Greatest Game of All Time” on a semi-regular basis. Those that had experienced previous console generations and earlier iterations may have perceived Franchise Sequel X in a different light, instead approaching it in the wider context of their place in the series as a whole.  Had the internet reached critical mass in say, the late 80s, we might have proclaimed “Final Fantasy III/Metal Gear 2/Super Mario Bros. 3/The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is the Greatest Game of All Time” upon release.  And we may have been right.  But that’s not the point – the point is that the current Loudmouths of Gaming first owned a Nintendo 64 and their favourite game is Ocarina of Time.  I disagree.  I put my own bias under scrutiny, however, with the admission that I reached the “golden age” for gaming (that’s eight years old) during the 16-bit era and my first console was the Sega Megadrive.  And so this could easily be [mis]interpreted as generational walking-stick-waving at good-fer-nuthin’ whippersnappers who don’t know no better.  “In my day we played real games with real difficulty, no tutorials, and graphics that don’t look ugly as fuck in retrospect, and we walked barefoot eight miles to school every day in the blistering snow” and so on and so forth. I can hardly be accused of enshrining those experiences, though, given the vast majority of my output on this website (playful jab: besides, I wasn’t nearly as starved for games as N64 owners were! ).

Now, whenever I ask [goad/provoke/whip into a frenzy] OOT fans just what it is that makes the game worthy of ‘Greatest Game of All Time’ status, they are happy to provide me with a laundry list of reasons.  However, it wasn’t until I played A Link to the Past for EveryGame that it occurred to me: a vast majority of the things they loved about Ocarina were present in the series before Ocarina. To be precise, most of the things they loved about Ocarina of Time were introduced in A Link to the Past.  The rest centred around nostalgia or something else unquantifiable like watching a Hyrulian sunrise for the first time (which, by the way, sounds like a great name for a drink). None of these things are enough to melt this cold, cold heart.  Now, if someone was to craft a compelling argument citing OOT’s contributions to the development of Hyrulian anthropology, that is something I could get behind (after all, the game introduced and developed the Kokiri, the Deku, the Gerudo and Goron tribes).  It’s all unquantifiable of course, but in pure gaming terms, I’d have to award my “Best of Series” to A Link to the Past.  Now falls to me the thankless task of convincing you.

Let’s begin by revisiting one of my earlier statements:

‘[The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is] a great work of art  that has ignited so many imaginations…’

Recently I likened creative genius to a bag of Pop Rocks, buzzing and crackling with ideas and potential – it’s a strange feeling, to be sure, but damn if it doesn’t feel great.  Now, Miyamoto is credited with most of these – it’s difficult to tell with the Japanese – certainly he was [and is, and probably always will be] ‘the fall guy’, taking responsibility for the team’s collective brilliance and blunders.  Regardless, Link to the Past bursts at the seams with all the vitality of an art form that’s never been done before.  There’s a sense that these guys are creating their own rules; their own language; and quite frankly, it’s exciting.  Those who travel to the Dark World without the aid of the Moon Pearl transform into a creature befitting of their nature, in Link’s case, a pink rabbit.  The Book of Mudora can be used to translate ancient Hylian runes.  A curse that threatens to ‘halve’ your magic bar actually doubles it.  What kind of topsy-turvy wall is this? At this point I was willing to accept that the helpful sage, Sahasrahla, might communicate his cryptic clues via wall-intercom; though others seem to put this down to telepathy; or even something as unremarkable as wall plaques (spoilsports!).

"...and User of Intercoms!"

Returning to the rest of that sentence:

‘[The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is] a game that has danced in the minds of young children with magic and possibility.’

I’ll make that more specific for you: Link to the Past is the quintessential boy’s game.  It’s packed with the things that boys love to do.  One need only look as far as Link’s inventory screen to realise this: a sword, a shield, a bow and arrow, a mallet, a boomerang, a grappling hook, BOMBS, and a BUG-CATCHING NET. Let’s focus for a second on the bug-catching net.  Nothing appeals to my boyish mischief more than catching a fairy in my bug-catching net and being asked by the game:

“you have caught a faerie!  Would you like to:
→ Keep it in a bottle
→ Set it free?”

What kind of boy wouldn’t take the first choice? A fairy boy, that’s what! I chuckle evilly as I stuff the helpless creature in its glass prison. It tries to get out, but I knock it back in and press the lid down tight. I shake it up a little to let it know who’s boss. I put breathing holes in the lid of course! Then I stuff the jar in my rucksack. My childhood was filled with stuff like this – I have a fairly amusing story of a boomerang that flew into a tree and disappeared (a MAGIC BOOMERANG, if you will) – and who here hasn’t fashioned a sword, or bow and arrow out of wood to fight with their brothers? Who hasn’t tied a stick to a length of rope and swung it onto the roof? Who hasn’t – with their friends – pooled together resources from their fathers’ garages to make a bomb and set it off in the park?

…

Oh.

Never mind that last one. Link to the Past lets you do all of these things and more without fear of reprisal from disapproving and fun-hating adults – mischief is encouraged! Where do I sign?! A Link to the Past is A Link to Your Past; it taps into your boyhood fantasies* and imaginary play, and coming at this game for the first time as a full-grown man (debatable, I know), I can say that its effect is profound. It doesn’t rely on nostalgia, it evokes nostalgia.

* Sorry ladies, how about, um…Animal Crossing?

ALTTP reminds me of another ‘toy’: Rubik’s Cube. The entire game is a puzzle, from the Hyrulian overworld to the deepest dungeon. You can view the puzzle holistically (from a ‘helicopter view’, if you will), then by working away at a particular section, the puzzle begins to open up to you. And when you discover the secrets of a dungeon or a map, it feels as though they’re opening only to you. It’s all a clever ruse, of course, as they’re often necessary to completing the game, but this is a feeling distinctly missing from all subsequent Zelda titles. The Navis and the Midnas of the 3D Zeldas robbed me of any cleverness I might have had, and for the most part secrets have now been relegated to ancillary discoveries. In A Link to the Past, the dungeons themselves are the puzzles. And while the game does bottleneck at points (most notably at its beginning and end) – like Rubik’s Cube, there’s no ‘correct’ order of completion. The design encourages a particular dungeon order, but it does not force one, which is, you know, kinda nice. Multiple routes means you can skirt most of the overworld from the start, despite not being able to access it in its entirety. It’s not a case of “what are you doing here?! You’re not allowed in this area yet!” More like, “I wonder how I can get over there…” As you gain new items on your dungeon crawl, new paths begin to open up in your mind, and you begin to see how the Rubik’s Cube fits together. Then you start getting real clever, when you can exploit the subtle differences between the Light World and its Dark World counterpart, switching between the two at will.

Light World, Dark World, Light World, Dark World...

The Hyrule of Link to the Past is the perfect size: open enough to explore from the very beginning, but dense enough so as to prevent getting lost or bored, with enough *just* beyond your grasp to keep things intriguing. The place is a veritable hive of activity, where stuff actually happens. Guards are constantly scouring the streets and forests for you, thieves are trying to rob you, and the villagers are trying to run from you. The landmarks are distinct and memorable, and it ranks as the only incarnation of Hyrule I’ve ever memorised incidentally. By comparison, Ocarina of Time (et. al) may as well be a barren wasteland (the original Hyrule was intentionally a wasteland, in line with its narrative**).

Hyrule will never be the same again.

While we’re on the boredom score, what other Zelda game throws you headlong into its main dramatic situation from the outset? None, that’s what! **The original game didn’t have a dramatic situation at all per sé, instead motivating players through its over-arching narrative of survival and exploration, and power to it – but every other Zelda game opens with a whimper that can only come from performing menial tasks for village idiots. Link to the Past opens with a telepathic distress call from the titular princess. You receive your sword immediately from your dying uncle, and head directly to Hyrule Castle for the rescue. There are, of course, other forces at work, lest the game be finished within its first half-hour, but no time is wasted on Navi-coddling (“hey, listen!”) or training (welcome to Link’s Crossbow Training – who’d've thunk they’d ever make a full game out of it?).

Like most elements of this game, the combat is nuanced enough to be satisfying, but simple enough to keep things in perspective. There’s less dicking around in the item-switching department, for one.  Power gloves and flippers kick in at will when required, while boomerangs, arrows, bombs or hooks can be fired in tandem with sword-swinging without overtaking your primary aim (compare this to say, Twilight Princess, where the world virtually stops for you to take the shot). That’s not to say it’s a cakewalk, either – indeed, if you’re not on your A-game, you can find yourself in a very tight spot, scrounging for hearts wherever you can.  The combat is never drawn out; rather it’s a vehicle for further puzzling. In this way it’s similar to one of the truly great 2-D-to-3-D migrations, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time – combat is a pace-changer but not a pace-breaker. Unlike those 3-D adventures, however, Link to the Past’s combat isn’t lumbered with an invisible tractor beam in the field of battle. Z-targeting was Ocarina’s ’solution’ to its own camera-wrangling problem, praised for its ‘innovation’ – what it *was* was a sufficient stop-gap, not a praiseworthy one. Would you praise a biochemist for providing the cure to the flesh-eating virus of his own creation? Would you thank a snake for biting you and then slipping you the anti-venom vial? No, you’d be relieved perhaps, if not slightly annoyed at the inconvenience, before you dust yourself off and be on your way. And so it is with a mixture of relief and annoyance that I approach the Past and ask the snake [Nintendo], why bite in the first place if you’re not going to make a meal of it? Why create a flesh-eating virus if not to wipe out millions?

If it ain’t broke, why fix it?

(Special 1.5) Super Mario ist ein altbekannter Klempner den wir alle kennen und lieben. Ich hab mich mit einem guten Freund zusammengesetzt und wir haben über jedes einzelne Super Mario Spiel gechattet. Den Verlauf könnt ihr gleich sehen.

Noch mal ein kurzer Hinweiß: Wir haben weder auf Rechtschreibung noch auf Grammatik geachtet, während des Chats, da es ja auch persönlicher wirken soll…

[18:22] Joe(Admin): Willkommen zu unserer Disskusionsrunde über Chat, ich bin Joe und mein Kollege ist der…
[18:22] Robby: Ronbärt
[18:22] Joe(Admin): Genau, Ronbärt der Pirat, wer ihn noch nicht kennt…
[18:22] Joe(Admin): und wir reden heute über Super Mario

Super Mario

[18:23] Joe(Admin): zuerst fangen wir mal mit Mario’s erstem Auftritt an, das war in Donkey Kong für Spielehallen…

Donkey Kong Arcade

[18:23] Joe(Admin): willst du was dazu sagen oder soll ich den anfang machen?
[18:23] Robby: fällt mir spontan nichts ein… aber ich habe es gespielt
[18:24] Joe(Admin): ok, dann beginne ich, donkey kong war das spiel, wo man Mario, einen Schreiner spielen musste, denn ein wildgewordener Affe namens Donkey Kong hat Prinzessin Pauline entführt
[18:24] Joe(Admin): Man fängt an und muss eben Fässern ausweichen
[18:24] Robby: ja das weiß ich…
[18:25] Robby: mir hat das spiel selbst nicht so gut gefallen da es mir nicht so gefällt fässern auszuweichen
[18:26] Robby: aber es hat etwas mit allen marios gemeinsam…man muss eine prinzessin retten
[18:26] Joe(Admin): genau, was in späteren donkey kong spielen auch noch wichtig war, die fässer sind geblieben, aber mario wurde rausgeschmissen
[18:27] Joe(Admin): Ursprünglich sollte das ja ein Popeye spiel werden…

Super Popeye Bros.

[18:27] Joe(Admin): aber der Erfinder von Popeye hat kurz vor dem Release die Lizens an sich gerissen
[18:28] Joe(Admin): Merkt man das irgendwie, dass eigentlich ein Spinatjunge Mario sein sollte? Was meinst du?
[18:29] Robby: nein ich finde nicht so das das ein spinatjunge werden sollte denn mario hat zb. einen bart und popeye keinen es gibt aber auch wesentlich mehr unterschiede zwischen mario und popeye
[18:30] Joe(Admin): den namen hat Mario ja vom italiensischen Vermieter des Betriebsgebäudes Nintendo’s in Amerika, der Ähnlichkeiten mit “Jumpman” hatte und Mario hieß…
[18:31] Joe(Admin): So viel zu Donkey Kong, gehen wir weiter zu…
[18:31] Joe(Admin): Mario Bros.

[18:31] Joe(Admin): Hier war Mario auf einmal Klempner und musste sich durch Areale springen und auf jeder Ebene Gegner plätten
[18:32] Joe(Admin): Ich fand das jetzt schon deutlich spaßiger, war auch wieder für Spielhalle, man merkt auch, dass Myamuto dort gewerkelt hat, aber so ganz das was wir unter Mario kennen, war es noch nicht, oder?
[18:33] Joe(Admin): Was meinst du?
[18:33] Robby: nein noch nicht ganz es war noch nicht ganz so bunt wie wir es heute kennen aber mir gefällt persönlich dieser ”alte” style besser als der heutige da der neue so übertrieben ist finde ich
[18:34] Joe(Admin): Ja, aber recht viel mehr dazu nicht, denn kommen wir zu Mario’s Durchbruch auf dem NES mit Super Mario Bros.

[18:34] Joe(Admin): Denn das muss ich sagen, war dann das bunte, lustige Jump and Run das wir kennen und lieben…
[18:35] Joe(Admin): ich glaube auch nicht, dass das einer nicht kennt
[18:37] Robby: ja das kennt wirklich jeder ”nerd” aber ich denke das kennen sogar ”kleinere” kinder, ich habe das spiel sogar orginal auf nes gespielt zwar nicht lange aber ich kann es von mir behaupten das spiel auf nes gezockt zu haben vor einem halben jahr habe ich das spiel auf emulator gespielt (auf meiner psp) aber nicht lange weil ich meine psp aufgereumt habe und ausversehentlich alle roms gelöscht -.-’
[18:38] Joe(Admin): ja, und eigentlich ist Mario’s Auftritt ein Meilenstein in der Geschichte des Gamings
[18:38] Robby: ja das auf jeden fall
[18:38] Joe(Admin): Das Ganze kam 1983 raus und zählt heute immer noch zu den besten 2D Jump and Runs
[18:39] Robby: das können ja nicht viele games von sich behaupten
[18:39] Joe(Admin): und da kann einer sagen was er will, mir gefällt Mario’s 2D Auftritt so gut, dass ich ähnliche Jump and Runs die zur gleichen Zeit kamen in den Hintergrund verdrängen würde um Mario zu feiern
[18:40] Joe(Admin): Genau, wie gerade gesagt, die meisten älteren Kollegen von Mario sind auch schon verschwunden vom Erdboden
[18:41] Robby: wie zum beispiel die giana sisters

[18:41] Joe(Admin): die ja dann auch verklagt worden sind, von mario
[18:41] Joe(Admin): nru lustigerweise kommt jetzt eine lizensierte Version für den DS als Remake
[18:42] Joe(Admin): nur*
[18:42] Robby: wird das remake trozdem mario nicht übertrumpfen
[18:42] Joe(Admin): ja, weil es viel zu spät kommt, ich meine, wir sind mittlerweile im 3D Zeitalter, da wird ein 2D Jump and Run nicht mehr viel bewirken können…
[18:43] Joe(Admin): So, kommen wir zu Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels

[18:43] Joe(Admin): Weißt du, was das genau ist?
[18:44] Robby: nein da ich es noch nicht gezockt habe tut mir leid
[18:44] Joe(Admin): kein Prolbem, kam auch erst zu SNES Zeiten nach Europa
[18:44] Joe(Admin): Das war im Grunde genommen die erste Version von Super Mario Bros. 2 die auch fast wie das erste Spiel war
[18:45] Joe(Admin): Hierzulande kam ja Super Mario Bros. 2 als Remake eines völlig anderen Jump and Runs, aber das war noch richtig von links nach rechts springen und sammeln von münzen
[18:45] Robby: ja nur die grafik war leicht verbessert und es tauchten neue items auf
[18:45] Joe(Admin): genau
[18:46] Joe(Admin): Im Grunde genommen hätte ich mir das Spiel lieber als Teil 2 gewünscht, weil das richtige Super Mario Bros. 2 dann halt keine richtigen Münzen mehr hatte, man hatte überhaupt keine Weltkarte mehr und auch Gegner waren nicht mehr durch draufspringen zu besiegen
[18:47] Joe(Admin): und da wären wir auch bei Teil 2, hast du das gespielt, oder bei nem Freund mal gesehen?

[18:48] Robby: ich hab den teil auch auf meiner psp gezockt aber nur kurz um zu probieren ob es funktioniert
[18:48] Joe(Admin): ja…
[18:48] Joe(Admin): wie fandest du diese komplett neue art…
[18:49] Joe(Admin): ?
[18:50] Robby: wie gesagt ich kann icht viel dazu sagen da ich es nur kurz gezockt habe aber ich fand es nicht so gut da hat dann wieder das gewisse etwas gefehlt
[18:50] Joe(Admin): ja, war eben ein anderes konzept
[18:50] Joe(Admin): In Japan erschien SMB 2 übrigens unter dem Namen Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panikku
[18:51] Joe(Admin): Und die Japaner durften die verlorenen Levels durchspringen
[18:51] Joe(Admin): Dann kommen wir zu Teil 3, der wiederrum richtig gut war

[18:51] Joe(Admin): Find ich bis jetzt immer noch eines der besten Jump and Runs im 2D Bereich, auch wenn es heutzutage etwas langsam ist…
[18:52] Joe(Admin): die Grafik war genial und auch irgendwie die Melodien, die Weltkarte, es wurden unheimlich viele Spieleelemente dazugefügt

[18:53] Robby: da gab es doch  zum ersten mal den waschbär ”anzug” oder?
[18:53] Joe(Admin): ja
[18:53] Joe(Admin): und einen richtig guten koop modus
[18:54] Robby: ich habe das game leider nur kurz gezockt da ich einfach noch zu jung war um das spiel richtig zocken zu können… ich hatte es auch nicht als rom
[18:54] Joe(Admin): schade, ich war damals natürlich auch noch zu jung, hab ich aber dann dennoch durchgespielt mit nem kumpel auf der Wii
[18:55] Robby: ich habe leider keine wii sonst würde ich die virtual console nartürlich ständig benutzen
[18:55] Joe(Admin):
[18:56] Joe(Admin): Wir sind übrigens zu dritt, du ich und wikipedia, wo ich diesen satz zu smb 3 gefunden hab :”Mit über 17 Millionen verkauften Exemplaren wurde Super Mario Bros. 3 zum meistverkauften Videospiel aller Zeiten, das nicht zusammen mit einer Konsole verkauft wurde. Allein in den USA betrugen die Einnahmen über 500 Mio $.”
[18:56] Joe(Admin): Oh, sind zwei Sätze…
[18:57] Robby: ja da hat man anscheinend einen rießen treffer mit super mario bros. 3 gelandet
[18:58] Joe(Admin): und apropo treffer, es gab auch einen Gameboy Teil, aber den hab ich nicht gespielt…
[18:58] Joe(Admin): du?
[18:58] Joe(Admin): Der hieß glaub ich Super Mario Land…

Super Mario Land

[18:58] Robby: super mario land müsste ich sogar dahaben ich kann ja mal schauen ^^
[18:59] Joe(Admin): musst du jetzt nicht extra machen^^
[18:59] Joe(Admin): aber du hast es gespielt…
[18:59] Joe(Admin): oder?
[18:59] Robby: ja denke schon
[18:59] Joe(Admin): Dann erzähl einfach mal ein bisschen was^^
[18:59] Robby: ja ich habe sogar beide mario lands ^^
[19:00] Joe(Admin): oha
[19:00] Joe(Admin): davon gabs 2?
[19:00] Joe(Admin): halt, nein, sogar 3?!
[19:00] Robby: okay den 3. habe ich leider nicht
[19:00] Robby: aber
[19:01] Robby: in mario land 1 das fand ich irgendwie ‘’sau” schwer ich bin nie sehr weiter gekommen
[19:01] Joe(Admin): hab ich auch gehört
[19:02] Joe(Admin): soll echt ein schweres stück gewesen sein, vor allem wegen dem “großen” Bildschirm des Game Boys
[19:02] Joe(Admin): Aber nichts gegen Gameboy, GB ist kult!
[19:03] Robby: ja und du hast mich wieder dazu gebracht später mir 4 batterien zu nehmen sie in meinen game boy zu packen und mario, zelda, pokemon, tetris usw zu zocken
[19:03] Joe(Admin): pokemon ftw^^
[19:03] Robby: oh ja^^
[19:03] Joe(Admin): hattest du metroid für gameboy?

[19:03] Robby: ne leider nicht
[19:04] Joe(Admin): schade, dass hab ich mal bei nem kumpel gespielt, man hat mich das geflasht
[19:04] Joe(Admin): vor allem weil ich damals wie die meisten nicht wusste, das Samus kein Mann ist…
[19:04] Robby: ja samus ist eine frau

Ich hab Hunger...

[19:05] Joe(Admin): Ja, wir sind etwas vom Thema abgekommen, zurück zu Mario, denn jetzt folgt mein Lieblingsspiel der Mario Serie…
[19:05] Joe(Admin): Super Mario World für das Super Nintendo Entertainment System kurz SNES

Super Mario World

[19:06] Robby: habe ich auch auch gezockt auch auf snes
[19:07] Robby: mir gefiel aber der 2. teil besser
[19:07] Joe(Admin): da muss ich jetzt wieder sagen, denn kann ich gar nicht, das war Yoshi’s Island, oder?
[19:07] Joe(Admin): mit dem kann ich gar nicht*
[19:08] Robby: ja mario world: yoshis island

[19:08] Robby: ich fande es einfach sooooooo… ”geil”
[19:08] Joe(Admin): ok…
[19:09] Robby: ich habe es auch orginal auf snes gezockt und wenn ich schon alleine die musik höre dann geht mein herz auf ich finde schon alleine wegen der musik sollte man sich das game holen

[19:09] Robby: ich fande auch das game selbst einfach hammer
[19:10] Joe(Admin): schön das es dir da so gut damit geht und das dir teil 2 so gut gefällt, aber bei mir war da halt noch ein kleines stück nebengeschichte, wieso ich das game nicht mag…
[19:11] Joe(Admin): Mein Nachbar und ich, wir haben Super Mario World damals zich tausend mal durchgespielt, ich persönlich hab das Spiel geliebt.
[19:11] Joe(Admin): Er hört davon dass es einen Nachfolger gibt, bestellt den sich über Katalog, man hofft auf ein cooles Game auf einer Yoshi Insel und dann kam das Spiel
[19:11] Joe(Admin): Wir haben uns beide damals kein bisschen informiert
[19:12] Joe(Admin): und dann war da kreide Grafik, Blumen, so ein “kitschiger
[19:12] Joe(Admin): ” Soundtrack

[19:12] Joe(Admin): und YOSHI
[19:12] Joe(Admin): man hat im Grunde genommen nur Yoshi gespielt
[19:13] Joe(Admin): und ich hatte so eine Wut darauf, dass ich das Spiel nach 10 Minuten weggelegt hab und seitdem nie mehr angefasst hab…
[19:13] Robby: ja das stimmt schon es war eigentlich nicht mehr mario aber es hat mir trozdem sehr gut gefallen ^^
[19:13] Joe(Admin): ja, vielelicht fass ich den teil auch demnächst mal wieder an
[19:14] Joe(Admin): aber damals hab ich mich auf so ein gutes Mario Game gefreut mit mehreren Levelendungen und einer rießigen Weltkarte mit einzelnen Abschnitten und dann kam ein völlig anderes Spiel…
[19:15] Joe(Admin): Noch kurz zu Super Mario World, ich finde ja auch, dass das tausend Mal besser wie die 3D Teile war, obwohl ich sagen muss, dass sag ich erst seit Galaxy^^
[19:15] Joe(Admin): Aber 3D ist ein gutes Stichwort, kommen wir zu Super Mario 64

Super Mario 64

[19:15] Joe(Admin): Hab ich damals mit der N64 bekommen, rauf und runter gespielt und geliebt…
[19:16] Robby: super mario 64 habe ich auch orginal für 64 habs schon 1000 mal durchgespielt und bin immernoch von diesem game begeistert
[19:16] Robby: was soll man zu dem game sagen, einfach hammer
[19:17] Joe(Admin): Allein die Tatsache, ein Super Mario Level in einem vollen 3D Arial zu sehen, hat so geflasht, dass ich Super Mario 64 heute noch jedes Jahr an Weihnachten durchspiele
[19:17] Joe(Admin): Warst du beim ersten mal durchspielen schon ganz oben bei Yoshi?
[19:17] Joe(Admin): auf dem Schloss*

[19:18] Robby: nein das leider nicht ich und mein bruder haben bestimmt 3 jahre gebrauch um den letzen stern zu finden obwohl es eigentlich ganz einfach war ihn zu bekommen
[19:19] Joe(Admin): genauso gings mir auch, ich hab heute noch den origianlspielstand mit 119 Sternen, der mich auslacht, weil ich es damals nicht geschafft hab und mein Nachbar schon…
[19:20] Joe(Admin): Also, alle da draußen, wer Super Mario in 3D mag, soll sich einfach mal den Teil für N64 auf Virtual Console für Wii holen, oder, falls vorhanden, das Originalspiel, dass ich (glaub ich jedenfalls) nie mehr weggeben werde!
[19:20] Joe(Admin): falls N64 vorhanden*
[19:20] Robby: ja das kann ich auch nur empfehlen
[19:21] Joe(Admin): Hast du noch was zu dem Spiel zu sagen, oder wollen wir das nächste Kapitel Mario anreißen?
[19:21] Robby: nein wir können mit dem nächsten kapitel von der mario serie anfangen
[19:22] Joe(Admin): Das nächste Kapitel ist Super Mario Sunshine für Nintendo Gamecube

Super Mario Sunshine

[19:22] Joe(Admin): Und ich muss sagen, dass war für mich als jahrelangen Mario Fan gefundenes Fressen
[19:22] Joe(Admin): Die Grafik war damals so “geil”
[19:22] Joe(Admin): und die Musik, gefolgt von der Atmosphäre

[19:23] Joe(Admin): Hat mir richtig gut gefallen, ich hab bis heute aber noch nie alle 240 Sonnen gehabt
[19:23] Joe(Admin): (Insignien der Sonne im Spiel genannt)
[19:25] Robby: ich habe das game auch gespielt bei freunden aber mir hat aber irgendwas gefehlt es war zwar eine geile atmosphäre vorhanden aber mir hat nicht so gut gefallen das man mit einem ”wasserspritzstaubsaugerwhatever” fast überall hinkommen konnte
[19:25] Joe(Admin): ja, das Wasserdüsen Teil hat vor allem Liebhabern von Super Mario 64 nicht gefallen, weil es ganz andere Gameplay Elemente mit einbrachte
[19:26] Robby: ja das stimmt
[19:26] Joe(Admin): Ich muss sagen, war nicht so gut wie Super Mario 64, hat mir insofern aber besser gefallen im Vergleich zum gleich folgenden Teil, weil man einfach nen wirklich hohen Schwierigkeitsgrad hatte
[19:27] Joe(Admin): Die Mehreit sagt, dass ist schlecht, meiner Meinung nach, fehlt es dort den heutigen Spielen an Schwierigkeit, weil sonst ja jeder Anfänger von vorne bis hinten durchkommt
[19:27] Joe(Admin): Bei mir hat es auch Monate gedauert bis ich Bowser damals besiegt hatte
[19:28] Joe(Admin): Also, der nächste Teil den wir erwähnen, vor dem DS Ableger und anderen Handheld Games ist Super Mario Galaxy, dass von Kritikern am meisten gelobte Super Mario Spiel

[19:29] Joe(Admin): Ich hab dazu jetzt eine ganz einfache Meinung, mir war Super Mario Galaxy zu leicht, es hatte wirklich nichts neues und fühlte sich irgendwie an, wie eine ins Weltall portierte Version von Super Mario 64
[19:29] Joe(Admin): Weiß nicht, wie es dir da geht…
[19:30] Robby: ich habe galaxy leider noch nicht gespielt da ich ja keine wii habe aber ich würde es gerne zocken
[19:30] Joe(Admin): ja, ich bin mir auch ziemlich sicher, dass dir galaxy viel besser gefällt wie mir, aber irgendwas fehlt mir bei galaxy
[19:31] Joe(Admin): Ich will gar nicht abstreiten, dass es ein absolut gutes Spiel ist, mit dem man sich Tagelang beschäftigen kann, aber irgendwas fehlt mir dort dennoch…
[19:31] Joe(Admin): Mal schauen ob es da mit Super Mario Galaxy 2 besser wird, dass ja angekündigt wurde, auf der E3 2009

Du willst mehr über Super Mario Galaxy erfahren? Dann lese das Preview in der neuesten Ausgabe des EE-Game Magazins! Einfach auf das Bild klicken um zum Heft zu kommen!

[19:31] Joe(Admin): Hast du schon den Trailer von Galaxy 2 gesehen?
[19:31] Robby: nein leider noch nicht
[19:32] Joe(Admin): warte, das ist gleich was, was wir mit einbringen^^
[19:32] Joe(Admin): als interaktiven Llink
[19:32] Joe(Admin): Link*
[19:32] Joe(Admin):
[19:33] Joe(Admin): Schau’s dir mal an, solang können wir warten^^
[19:35] Robby: also der trailer sieht doch ganz vielversprechend aus
[19:35] Joe(Admin): Ja, find ich auch

[19:36] Joe(Admin): Ehrlich gesagt find ich es als Yoshi Fan auch richtig gut, das Yoshi dort so ausgiebig und oft vorkommen wird^^
[19:36] Robby: also vom trailer her würde ich es gerne zocken
[19:36] Joe(Admin): Ja, man bekommt sofort lust auf das Spiel, das aber warscheinlich erst Weihnachten 2010 rauskommt
[19:36] Joe(Admin): Das ist irgendwie bei Mario immer so, oder?
[19:37] Robby: ja das stimmt
[19:37] Joe(Admin): Ich hab bei jeder Ankündigung von Mario Spielen sofort Lust auf das eigentliche Spiel bekommen, musste dann aber immer noch ewig warten…
[19:37] Joe(Admin): aber es gibt ja noch einiges Mario Zeugs zum nachholen, zum Beispiel die ganzen Handheld Spiele von Mario…
[19:38] Joe(Admin): Ich werf jetzt einfach mal alle Titel in den Raum, ich kenn kein einziges richtig, deswegen darfst du jetzt, falls möglich, zu den GBA Teilen was sagen…
[19:38] Joe(Admin): uper Mario Advance

[19:38] Joe(Admin): Super*
[19:38] Robby: kenne ich nicht
[19:38] Joe(Admin): Super Mario Bros. 2: Mario Madness
[19:39] Joe(Admin): Super Mario Bros. 3: Super Mario Advance 4
[19:39] Robby: kenne ich auch nicht
[19:39] Robby: die teile auch nicht
[19:39] Joe(Admin):
[19:39] Joe(Admin): geht mir genauso^^

Alle Super Mario Bros. Advance Titel

[19:39] Joe(Admin): Mario und Luigi Superstar Saga
[19:40] Robby: ??? warum  kenne ich die nicht
[19:40] Joe(Admin): Weiß nicht, mir gehts aber genauso, ich hab meinen GBA geliebt, hab aber nur Pokémon darauf gespielt, ich kleiner Nerd^^
[19:40] Joe(Admin): Mir kommt es gerade so vor als wäre eine ganze Generation an mir vorbeigerauscht…
[19:41] Joe(Admin): wobei zu dem letzten Titel: Mario und Luigi Superstar Saga kann ich was sagen…
[19:41] Joe(Admin): das war ein RPG für GBA, dass dann auf dem DS Fortgeführt wurde…
[19:41] Joe(Admin): hab ich aber auch nicht gespielt…
[19:42] Joe(Admin): Jetzt kommen wir zu den DS Teilen…
[19:42] Joe(Admin): Super Mario 64 DS

Yoshi in bekanntem Super Mario 64 Wüstenlevel

[19:42] Joe(Admin): Das müsstest du kennen, selbst wenn du’s nicht selbst hast…
[19:42] Robby: ja ich habs kurz gezockt aber ich fande es nicht so gut
[19:43] Joe(Admin): Wieso? War doch Super Mario 64 auf dem DS…
[19:43] Joe(Admin): Mit 3 weiteren Charakteren…
[19:43] Robby: weiß nciht mir hat einfach das feeling gefehlt
[19:44] Robby: und man konnte doch wario spielen oder? aber wario ist doch nicht auf dem n64 nicht vorgekommen oder?
[19:44] Joe(Admin): ja, man konnte wario, luigi, yoshi und mario spielen…
[19:45] Joe(Admin): wobei bei Wario muss ich dir recht geben, den hätte man wirklich nicht mit einbauen müssen…
[19:45] Robby: ja das stimmt
[19:45] Joe(Admin): war der dann nicht auch langsamer?
[19:46] Robby: keine ahnung
[19:46] Joe(Admin): ist ja egal..
[19:46] Joe(Admin): denn hier auf der liste steht eines meiner DS Lieblinge…
[19:46] Joe(Admin): New Super Mario Bros. (NDS)

Microsite Vorschau

[19:47] Robby: ich habe es geliebt! ich habe es durchgezockt und das nicht nur 1 mal
[19:47] Joe(Admin): Hallo Bruder!
[19:48] Robby: da gab es doch bei der speicherauswahl so 3 bonus münzen oder?

[19:48] Joe(Admin): ja
[19:48] Robby: da hatte ich auch alle 3 und ich hatte sie in 1 woche ich glaube ich war 1 der erste in dem dorf ”deining” der das hatte
[19:48] Joe(Admin): ^^
[19:49] Joe(Admin): das gute alte bauernkaff deining^^
[19:49] Joe(Admin): xD
[19:49] Robby: ^^
[19:49] Robby: ich hatte das game selbst nicht aber ich habe es 1000 mal durchgezockt
[19:49] Joe(Admin): Es war auch richtig gut, man kannte Mario nur noch von 3D Spielen, dann kam ein klassisches 2D Jump and Run in 3D Grafik…
[19:49] Joe(Admin): einfach perfekt
[19:50] Robby: ja ich stimme nur zu
[19:50] Joe(Admin): auch die einzelnen Elemente die mit drin vorkamen, man konnte sich am Seil schwingen…
[19:50] Joe(Admin): oder der Wandsprung
[19:50] Joe(Admin): der war ja das erste Mal in einem 2D Jump and Run dabei^^
[19:50] Joe(Admin): Auch der 3-fach Sprung
[19:51] Robby: das ganze game hat mir einfach sehr gut gefallen
[19:51] Joe(Admin): ja, ganz meiner meinung, war ein fast makelloses Spiel

[19:51] Joe(Admin): Ich freu mich auch schon auf den Nachfolger für Wii, New Super Mario Bros. Wii

New Super Mario Bros. Wii Screenshot der E3 09

[19:52] Robby: ja ich mich auch doch ich kann es leider nicht zocken -.-’
[19:52] Joe(Admin): komm einfach sobald ich’s hab bei mir vorbei, das Ganze kann man zu viert durchspielen
[19:53] Joe(Admin): Ok, das letzte schneiden wir raus^^
[19:53] Joe(Admin): Mich hat schon die Präsentation auf der E3 09 gefallen…
[19:53] Joe(Admin):
[19:54] Robby: ja das game wird bestimmt richtig geil
[19:55] Joe(Admin): das will ich hoffen…
[19:55] Joe(Admin): Naja, im Grunde genomen war’s das so ziemlich mit den Hauptspielen, es gibt natürlich noch eine Handvoll RPG’s, Sportspiele und Smashbros. aber ich glaub, das würde ein neues Protokoll gebrauchen können, außerdem bin ich langsam echt müde
[19:56] Robby: ja ich auch
[19:56] Joe(Admin): Also, 15.November, kommt das neueste Mario Game und ich sag dann mal soweit tschüss. Mal schauen wie das hier ankommt
[19:57] Joe(Admin): Ich bin der Joe…
[19:57] Robby: und ich Ronbärt
[19:57] Joe(Admin): der Pirat
[19:57] Joe(Admin): und wir sagen tschüss und auf wiedersehen!

This weeks Video Game Videos/Terminal Videos theme is hidden secrets. Every single game has some Easter Egg tucked away, some are well known, some not so much.

First off, what’s your reward for getting all 120 stars in Super Mario 64? A message from Yoshi on the roof of the castle and 100 free lifes. Why you’d want 100 free lifes AFTER clearing the game I’ll never know.

Mario appearing as a portrait in Ocarina of Time isn’t actually his first appearance in a Zelda game. He also makes a brief appearance, again as a portrait, in A Link To The Past

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and the video that spawned a million complaints (most of which were from Hillary Clinton and Jack Thompson.) In a game filled with violence and murder one minute of simulated sex is too much. I present Hot Coffee, laugh at how ridiculous it is.

Solid Snake : Super Spy, Soldier, Public Masturbater

Remember the warp pipe from Super Mario Bros.? No not THAT warp pipe, the Minus World warp pipe.

Next up and by way of Game Genie you can “insert” an Airwing from Star Fox 64/Lylat Wars into Ocarina Of Time. There’s been no official reason as to why the code for an Airwing is in Ocarina Of Time but the most prominent theory is that it was used to test the “Z” targeting system.

The frame rate isn’t the best in this video but it’s the best on the internet that doesn’t have shitty dance music over it. Hidden within all the early Tomb Raider games there is a T-Rex or in the case of Tomb Raider 2, two T-Rexs

And finally the odd one out! While no longer in the actual game both Link and Samus were scheduled to appear in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance on the Wii. That was until Activision showed Nintendo the footage, for some reason Nintendo didn’t take too kindly to their characters being used without permission and on a PS2 dev kit to boot.

Der gute Klempner sitzt uns jetzt schon Jahrzente an der Bakce und wartet schon auf seine neuen Auftritte, Super Mario Galaxy 2 und New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Bild). In seiner bisherigen Kariere hat er 12 Jump and Runs als Protagonist bestückt und uns jedes Mal beweisen können, dass es doch kaum bessere Spiele gibt. Wir haben uns die Mühe gemacht und sortierten die einzelnen Spiele. Heraus kam die neue EE-Games Top 10!

Zum weiterlesen auf “Read more & Comment(s)” klicken!

Platz 10: Super Mario World 2

Kurz und knapp, Yoshi ist schuld! Viele lieben dieses Spiel, mir persönlich ist es zu wider, weil ich mich damals auf ein Mario Abenteuer gefreut habe und dann diese hässliche Kreidenoptik + Yoshi + Baby Mario (Hallo?!) den ultimativen Trash ergeben haben. Zugegeben, wäre das Spiel ein reiner Yoshi Titel, wäre es nicht in unserer Top10, würde jedoch auch besseren Zuspruch bekommen. Aber hier hat Nintendo einfach den Namen Mario für eine neue Spielrichtung missbraucht. Daher “nur” Platz 10.

Platz 9: Super Mario Bros 2 (PAL-Version)

Die Fans wissen, Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panikku ist der Original Titel und Super Mario Bros. 2 ist einfach ein Remake davon, einzig die Mario Charaktere wurden eingesetzt. Innovationslose Idee, da das Super Mario Bros. 2 Spiel bei uns unter dem Namen The Lost Levels dann doch erschienen ist. Auch hier ein herber Schlag für Fans der Reihe, weil das gesamte Konzept nicht mit dem ersten Teil übereinstimmt. Ansonsten aber ein recht solides Jump and Run!

Platz 8: Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels

Auch hier bin ich stinkig, dass Nintendo (außer in der Super Mario Allstars Collection) ewig gebraucht hat, um das Spiel hierzulande zu veröffentlichen. Wäre es nicht einfach möglich gewesen das Ganze nach dem ersten Teil herauszubringen? JEdenfalls ist hier der Spaßfaktor wieder genau auf dem Level, auf dem er sein soll!

Platz 7: Super Paper Mario

Auf Wii erschien dieses Jump and Run mit starken Rollenspieleinflüssen. gelungen von Kopf bis Fuß sollte es für Europäer die Überbrückung der Wartezeit zu Super Mario Galaxy sein. Und das war auch wirklich gut so. Spaßige Dialoge (mit sarkastischem Einfluss), eine schöne Grafik, 4 Hauptcharaktere und die umfangreiche 3D Welt machen diesen Titel für Wii zu einem MUST HAVE TITEL!

Platz 6: Super Mario Bros.

Der Klassiker schlechthin! Kaum einer hat dieses Spiel noch nicht gespielt, zumal auch Remakes und Fanmade Spiele wie Sand am Meer. Wer den Klassiker noch nicht kennt, sollte schläunigst mal schauen, ob er irgendwo eine Version in die Hände bekommt. Die beste Variante für Nintendo: Virtual Console Download für 5€!

Platz 5: Super Mario Bros. 3

Für die älteren Nintendo Veteranen ist dieser Titel der beste, was auch berechtigt ist. Das ganze Spiel macht Spaß, bietet ein absolut geniales Leveldesign + Konzept und auch einen Koop Modus. Zusätzlich hat man mehrere Verwandlungsmöglichkeiten. Eines der besten 2D Jump and Runs, auch heute noch!

Platz 4: Super Mario 64

Ich weiß, Super Mario 64 ist, zumindest unter Fans, das beste 3D Jump and Run der Mario Reihe. Kritiker sagen jedoch gegenteiliges. Wir sagen, beides Falsch! Super Mario 64 war das erste 3D Mario und hatte einen Bonus, weil man ein 3D Jump and Run in diesem Format noch nie zuvor gesehen hatte. Jedoch war es nicht unbedingt besser, wie die älteren Teile, nur in einer anderen Dimension! Doch im Grunde genommen ist Super Mario 64 auch von uns ein Favorit, daher Platz 4!

Der König der Bob Ombs. Grafisch ist Super Mario 64 leider schlecht gealtert, hat jedoch noch seinen Charme!

Platz 3: Super Mario Sunshine

Bevor jetzt Proteste kommen, dass Sunshine zu schwer war, um vor 64 zu kommen, müssen wir etwas einhaken. Zwar meinen Kritiker und Fans, es wäre ein schlechterer Titel, jedoch machen Sequenzen und rießige Welten, ein deutlich besseres Leveldesign wie im Vorgänger und eine unheimliche Spieltiefe Super Mario Sunshine auch zu den längsten Abenteuern die Mario bis jetzt zu absolvieren hatte. Und auch die Wasserdüse war keine schlechte Idee… Ehrlich gesagt, waren wir kurz davor, es auf Platz 2 zu setzen…

Platz 2: Super Mario Galaxy

Man kann sagen was man will, aber es ist nunmal so.  Super Mario Galaxy ist Super Mario 64 in neuer Grafik und im Weltall. Das war es dann schon mit der Neuerung. Zwar waren Wii Fans absolut glücklich über diesen Titel, weil es endlich mal wieder annähernd core-lastigen Content bot, jedoch muss man sagen, ein langwieriges Spiel für Profis, ist das nicht. Jedoch auch kein Einheitsbrei sondern ein absolut spaßiges Next Gen  Erlebnis!

Platz 1: Super Mario World

Überraschung, wir haben Super Mario World nicht vergessen. Denn dieses Spiel war nahezu makellos. Neben brilliantem Leveldesign, einer gut durchdachten Struktur und eine Spieldynamik, wie es kein anderes Spiel bieten kann, gewinnt der Titel selbst gegenüber den 3D Teilen. Denn man kann sagen was man will, Super Mario World war perfekt. Es gab keine unfairen Stellen, die Levelanzahl war gigantisch, was jedoch positiv auffiehl und  auch die Atmosphäre hat super gepasst. Man konnte fliegen, feuern oder auf Yoshi reiten, dieser musste manchmal sogar zu einem ausgewachsenen Yoshi gefüttert werden. Der Soundtrack ist selbst von den aktuellen Orchestralstücken aus Galaxy ungeschlagen. Bitmap gegen Polygon? Bitmap wins!

Mehr über die Super Mario Reihe? Wir haben ein Chatprotokoll über die gesamte Super Mario Saga gemacht und über jeden Titel diskutiert. Neben Fakten erfährt man auch einiges über die Eindrücke der Spiele…

http://eegames.wordpress.com/2009/09/12/ee-games-chat-protokoll-die-super-mario-reihe/

Hello all, I apologize for the little bit of inactiveness around here, but I have been writing an article for Delfino Plaza, which is going sort of slow because I am not happy with it - it seems way too short. *Puts on reading glasses* ah yes, I’ll be uploading the Villains & Enemies page (sorry Bowser, there are too little images of you to have your own page, it is all about quanity) soon time soon, and I am about 26% complete in the Super Mario 64 Star Guide, you can’t rush these things you know! Currently the next course for me to write in the guide is course 5: Big-Boos Haunt (that’s right, I’ve covered course 1 – 4 so far, all with the additional 100 coin tips, sounds exciting, huh?), which should be fun, and I should be able to get done with that one fast because it is more of an simple course.

Well that’s it for now, the article may be up in a few days, I definitely have to tweak it more, hopefully Dancing Pianta will be able to give me some advice. I also might change the Author Avatar, but there is only so much one can do with avatars.

Excellent news! Delfino Plaza is bound to get more traffic because I am writing the Super Mario 64 Star Guide, and it is going to be fun because every time I play Super Mario 64 (about 3:00 PM Central Time) I will have a notepad and I will write notes of ‘what to write for Delfino Plaza’, like where 8 Red coin locations are, and well, basically just write all the Power Stars (in order, from Course 1 to 15).

Also, a Legend of Zelda fansite, Zelda Kingdom, is allowing me to post one of their articles, which I look forward to because they do write some pretty thought-provolking articles, in addition to being plain-old enjoyable. I may soon be writing some articles over there, as well.

Well there you have it! Also expect to see a Princess Peach page up in a few days.

The blog has been updated with some pictures of the plaque with Japanese writing.  If you’d like to see how much Japanese is really in the plaque, please check out the “Japanese” page.

So, I finally got around to buying Super Mario Galaxy (yes, I know… two years late). $58AU at Big W’s Toy Sale this week, price matched at EB Games and then a $20AU voucher meant I only paid $38AU for it though. So I’m quite happy with that deal.

But since I’ve been spending more time with it recently, I must say I’m beginning to wish I bought it earlier. Sure, for the most part the game is definitely as easy as I remember it. But at least its fun easy, I have a few minor complaints about it still. Such as the damned camera, which they are still to perfect. I’m crossing my fingers for Galaxy 2.

Anyway, one of the major reasons I’m in love with this game is the fact that I feel like its a learning process. But to the usual extent, you know when a game presents you with a situation and then later in the game you encounter it again with some alterations (maybe in the scenario’s layout or the difficulty) but in Galaxy (and Mario games in general) I feel as though I’m being tested over the span of the games. A few times I found myself going, “Oh, that reminds me of something in Mario 64″ or “I did something similar to this in Mario Sunshine.” And I feel that is part of the charm that appeals to me about Mario games. And I love it.

Visually, musically, gameplay, the game impresses on all levels and I never got a chance to truly enjoy it to this degree when I played it a few years ago.

Wie es der letzte Artikel schon erahnen ließ, möchte ich meinen ersten Bericht dem N64-Vorzeigespiel “Super Mario 64″ widmen.

Wie in fast allen Mario-Spielen geht es darum die Prinzessin Peach aus den Fängen der bösen Schildkröte Bowser zu befreien, der sie diesmal in seinem gigantischen Schloss gefangen hält. Um sie zu retten muss der gute Mario 120 Power Sterne finden, die die verhexten Türen des Schlosses öffnen.

Der Clou an der ganzen Sache ist, dass die gelben Heilsbringer in den verschiedensten Welten – die es über Bilder im Schloss zu betreten gilt – versteckt sind und nur durch ausgiebiges Erkunden selbiger zu ergattern sind.

Was mich schon immer etwas störte ist, dass bei jedem neuen Start des Spiels der Klempner außerhalb des Gebäudes startet; man wird gezwungen die selben Wege gefühlte 237 Mal zu durchlaufen.

Was soll´s. Innen wird man dafür mit ideenreichen Welten entschädigt, die zwar nicht ganz den Witz eines “Banjo-Kazooie” erreichen aber dennoch sehenswert sind.

A propos sehenswert: die Grafik ist nach 12! Jahren doch etwas angestaubt, vor allem die Texturen wirken an manchen Stellen arg verwaschen.

Sei´s drum! Die ineinander greifende und flüssige Spielmechanik entfaltet beim Spieler das  “Einen Stern hol´ ich noch!”-Fieber und mag auch nach mehr als einem Jahrzehnt noch zu fesseln.

Alles in allem ein sehr, sehr spielenswerter Klassiker!

PS: Ich habe ihn selbst noch nie komplett durchgespielt; daran arbeite ich aber zur Zeit

zolch

Oh man. Last night was a pub crawl, which you’d think wouldn’t be a bad idea at all. No, I don’t drink that much, but I do enjoy bars to a small extent (Kennedy School anyone?) and there’s that whole social interaction thing, and of course some of Succinctrix’s friends whom I enjoy quite a bit, were there.

B ut it all started before then. Succinctrix and i went to pick up her friend from the airport. And I want to be very clear here, I don’t blame said friend, nor am I angry or upset at all at said friend, but…

Chip #1. Lots of discussion of autopsies.

(We still don’t know exact cause of death. We can perform an autopsy.)

Stomach churning.

And on like that for a while. Next big one…

Chip #2. Given that the cele brating party is a graduating class in public health, the pub crawl schedule dealio is a description of diseases, including hep A.

(We’ve run more tests for Hep A, but we don’t think that’s what’s causing all the liver damage.)

Chip #3. I very stupidly, and partially intentionally, slip that I’ve been doing freelance for my pa-in-law. I don’t say FORMER pa-in-law, nor do I say the agreed-upon FRIEND. I drop the big one. Of course this begs the question later, watia a minute, if Anton has a pa-in-law, what’s he doing with Succinctrix?

Awkward moments for Succinctrix ensue. God job, Anton. Ya fuckin’ douchebag.

Chip #4. Original context forgotten, but Succinctrix’ friend asks “What disease did she have?” Anton stupidly beleives that he can handle this ona purely intellectual level. Doe a decent job until:

“Was she jaundiced?”

Again, I don’t mind at all that the questions were asked. I should’ve just said, er, I can’t talka bout this in any real way yet. But becuase I’m dumb, I dove in. I think, in all honesty, because I wanted to tell someone. I even mentioned a bit of TW.

So adding those 4 chips up and sprinkl a bit o’ banana cream and you have a very stomach churning night complete with a desert of hard sobs.

Ug.

I apologized to Succinctrix for my transgressions. She apologized for her friend’s which really is okay. We (Succinctrix and I, not her friend and I) revised our plan of social interaction involving my Massive Bag o’ Shit ™.

On the bright side, much Mario was had.

What’s not to love about Super Mario 64?

I remember when I first got the Nintendo 64 during Christmas of 1996. I wanted Super Mario 64 with it, but was disappointed when my father could not snag it due to the holiday rush. We rented the game at Blockbuster the next week and I could not bring myself to separate from the game. My father eventually had to pay Blockbuster for the game after weeks and weeks of holding onto the game past due.

Armed with an Electronics Gaming Monthly guide, I dived into the 120-star quest that was Super Mario 64. From flying over sandy dunes and pyramids and diving into sunken ships, Super Mario 64 really took adventure to a new level that I had never experienced before. It was not the rush of speed that Sonic the Hedgehog had, but an explorer’s quest into massive levels, each unique in its own way. The interactivity of the 3D world was something I just could not experience during the NES and SNES age.

Mario saved the inhabitants of the castle all by himself. Though some allies made cameos in the game, he enters every level on his own and successfully trumps Bowser and all his minions without anything more than his plumber skills and some power-ups. His butt-burned on fire, but I pressed on. He was blown off cliffs, but I climbed back up. I could not get bored in the levels, with so many tasks and objectives. There was always mindlessly running around and flying in the sky when I really was not up to looking for a star or one of those eight red coins.

Many games would come after this to feature the same ideas and innovations, but Super Mario 64 will always leave its mark on me as the first time I entered the vast 3D world. The first time I did not just run through levels, but explored them instead.

This post contains SPOILERS. If you have not seen X-Men Origins: Wolverine and do not want to know plot details, do not read on!

I just got out of the midnight premiere of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and the movie was a damn hit!

Some of you may know that I am a huge X-Men fan. I didn’t grow up reading the comics like a lot of people did, but after seeing the first movie I became obsessed with knowing as much about the X-Men/Marvel universe as I could. After getting my friend Johnny in to it, we both sort of became each others’ go-to guy when it came to watching the movies, talking about them, and discussing the mythology behind the X-Men series.

I have to say that X-Men Origins: Wolverine is an absolutely fantastic beginning to what I, and I am sure millions of other fans around the world, hope to be an ongoing franchise. Though the movie was a thrill ride from start to finish, it did have some things I thought could be improved (what movie doesn’t?). Let me break down the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good
First, and most importantly, the story was fantastic! They really brought forth an aspect of Wolverine’s back story that not many fans know of: the relationship with Kayla. I typically get VERY bored with romance lines in movies, especially ones like X-Men where I pay to see visual effects, explosions and ass-kicking, not the luvy-duby kisses and back rubs. For most X-Men fans, this movie’s story and how it develops will be a sigh of relief compared to the last X-Men movie we saw: X-Men III: The Last Stand, which just had too much untrue story going on for the sake of visual effects.

Another great part of this movie is the multitude of mutants they managed to fit in considering this is a character centric spin-off movie. A lot of them get pushed in to the end of the movie, but they are definitely worth waiting for (Emma Frost, Cyclops in particular). I was happily surprised to see how much time Scott Summers received on screen. Though his character wasn’t particularly important to the plot, the fact that we see Scott as a high school student makes his supporting character very interesting, and something different that we’ve never seen on screen. It seemed as if maybe they were giving him some time to do his own Origins spin-off? Maybe we’ll be seeing X-Men Origins: Cyclops in the future?

One final great thing worth noting is the simple fact that Gambit made it to the movie. Finally, after nearly 10 years of X-Men movies and hype and talk, we finally are seeing Remy on the big screen! When the scene starts in New Orleans, I just started smiling. Gambit is such a huge part of the Marvel universe, and I always pictured in my head how the scene would start in New Orleans when he finally (if ever) made it, and it was a lot like what I saw tonight. Gambit has an awesome scene during the end of the film but don’t want to write about it for those who might be waiting to see it and are still sneaking! Go see it it’s awesome!

The Bad
Overall, there weren’t many bad things going on with this movie. However there were a few decisions that I thought could have been thought over. First, the Blob. Yes, he incorporates a little comic relief, and visual appeal, but he was written as just another knower of information. Couldn’t they have a more interesting, showier mutant for Logan to fight to get the answers he needs? All Logan does throughout this movie is fight people for answers, and one of the mutants he has to fight is…the Blob? Lame.

Secondly, why Will.I.Am? He wasn’t necessarily bad, but considering they cut Nightcrawler out of the third X-Men movie with no explanation besides what the video games say, you think they would add him as the teleport. Yeah recycling mutants is probably not the best idea, but Will.I.Am wasn’t even a mutant from the comics was he? I don’t remember him at least.

I would have also liked to see a tiny bit less of Logan and Sabretooth charging at each other. Yes, we get it, they are brothers and have a history. It seemed like every other scene started with some witty dialogue, followed by them growling at each other, followed by them charging at each other and punching each other in the guts. Stabbing each other with long press on fingernails and some claws is only exciting once or twice.

Thinking more about the scenes, there were a lot of panning and driving clips. Lots of Logan in a car driving down a country side, or Logan on a motorcycle driving on a windy road symbolizing the life he had to live and is going to live. Lots of people just DRIVING. If you see the movie again, notice all the driving, and countryside, and mountains we see. Is it necessary!?

Finally, the graphics. I was really hoping this movie would bring it graphically, but it really really didn’t. In fact the graphics could be the worst part of the movie if you ask me. There were so many times where I said, “That looks really fake,” out loud. The first time it annoyed me was when Logan was in the bathroom of the old peoples’ house and was looking at his newly formed adamantium claws. They looked like a cartoon! Also, the scene a top the nuclear reactor at the end looked EXACTLY like a video game. In fact, it looked like a Mortal Kombat trailer. Baracka anyone? That scene had the potential to really pull people in but I went through the entire thing waiting for it to be over, and promptly rolled my eyes and looked around at the people beside me expecting a “I KNOW RIGHT?” I didn’t get one, but still. Also when the helicopter lands and the kids come running out to find you know who (I can’t bring myself to type it for those who haven’t seen it!), that entire scene looks like something from Super Mario 64. The grass looks like an oil painting! Then the kids start running to the helicopter and they don’t get smaller by perspective! That whole scene looks like it was shot using a camcorder and one of those Photobooth default backgrounds that come with every Mac. I was waiting for the words, “Please step out of the frame” to pop up so that it could be green screened or something. Very disappointing.

Um, is Weapon XI a real mutant too? Did these producers pull mutants out of their asses or what? I don’t ever remember hearing about Weapon XI, and considering how powerful and interesting he could have been, it would have been something more prominent in the comics. And, if you’re Weapon XI and combine all these different mutants powers and all you do is teleport, and blast lasers like Cyclops, I’d think you were pretty lame. I saw Storm, Angel, and some others in those holding cells. Tear their asses up! The head falling down the reacter was pretty fun though.

Like I said, this movie is awesome. It manages to give the audience tons of back story in to Wolverine’s life without making him look extremely boring. I’ve always hated Wolverine’s character in the X-Men series, but this movie has definitely changed that. Somehow Wolverine has become a lot more theatrical and interesting to me.

I can’t wait to see which Origins movie gets green lighted after this weekend’s numbers come in. I know that they had been working on Magneto in pre-production for a while, so odds are that will be next. Then Cyclops? Jean Grey? Storm? As long as we don’t see X-Men Origins: The Blob, I think I’ll be okay. If you are even remotely an X-Men fan, go see Wolverine, it’s worth it!

What happened after N64’s launch? What happened with third-part support? What ultimately happened to the Nintendo 64?

——————————————-

With the wildly successful Nintendo DS and Wii hitting record sales month after month, Nintendo looks like a million bucks. All of Nintendo’s well calculated strategies and inventive risks look like–and may very well be–genius.

Going against the grain of more sophisticated machines such as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, in 2006 Nintendo launched the Wii, a console less powerful than the original Xbox, accompanied by an un-tried game controller that smacked of trickery, and a name that sounded so close to urine that it made everyone over 10 years of age giggle.

But it wasn’t always that way.

“Looking Back at 1998: Nintendo’s Fall, Part 2″ is the second part of a series originally published on Edge-Online.com.

——————————————

“Something is Wrong with Nintendo 64″

In the May 1997 issue of Next Generation (number 29, Volume 3), eight months after Nintendo’s successful launch with only two games, Next Generation magazine took a hard look at Nintendo’s system with the headline, “Something is Wrong with Nintendo 64,” followed by the subhead, “There simply aren’t enough quality games. But is there hope? Revealed: The 70 new games that will make or break N64.”

Next Gen compares the the Super NES launch titles to the Nintendo 64 launch titles. Super Mario World Vs Super Mario 64; PilotWings versus PilotWings 64; F-Zero versus Wave Race 64; and Actraiser versus Shadows of the Empire.

Those words were tough for Nintendo fans to face, but the cover image was even more jarring. It was illustrated with a picture of Mario’s face beneath a cracked plate of glass, splintering Mario’s smiling face into shards.

The basic premise of Next Generation’s feature article was Nintendo had promised “quality” ahead of “quantity,” but didn’t support that strategy with enough quality games. Additionally, the magazine wrote that the games that had arrived were:

1) “Out of date” (Doom 64, Cruis’n USA, NBA Hangtime, and Killer Instinct Gold among them).

2) “Too safe” (see previous list).

3) “And had all the flaws of cartridge-based games” (the lack of storage produced redundant textures, little to no FMV, and significant audio limitations).

4) NG also claimed that while Nintendo made a big deal about the power of 64-bit games over 32-bit games, “outside of Super Mario 64 and Wave Race 64, that extra power hadn’t meant squat to the quality of games. “

5) Finally, Next Generation claimed that there was “no third-party support.”

After two years of working at Next Generation, I headed up the first IGN site, N64.com, which launched in August 1996. The publisher of Next Generation Jonathan Simpson-Bint had given me the option to work on any of the IGN sites, and I had originally picked SaturnWorld.com. After some reflection, I decided to run the N64 site instead, shifting newly hired editor, Jeff Chen, to the Saturn site.

As the new editor at N64.com, I was conflicted. I took issue with Next Generation. Mainly, I disagreed with Next Generation’s review scores. The magazine had only given two Nintendo 64 games, Super Mario 64 and PilotWings 64, five out of five stars. Everything else was ravaged. Wave Race 64 received three stars? Wave Race 64 remains a brilliant piece of technology and gameplay even today. Despite a slew of jet ski games ushered out on PS2, none have been as good as Wave Race. Even the sequel Wave Race: Blue Storm wasn’t better the original. Turok: Dinosaur Hunter received only three stars? Didn’t that game have the coolest set of weapons ever? Even Mario Kart 64 received three stars.

The conflict, however, was that even if I didn’t agree with Next Generation on a game-by-game basis, I agreed with Next Generation’s premise on the whole. On the whole, third-party games were lackluster, old, and safe. It wasn’t until one-plus year after launch that EA started supporting N64. And the 64-bit console’s power wasn’t vastly ahead of the competition, by any means.

All of my issues aside, the magazine’s criticisms pointed out N64’s biggest flaw: the cartridge model was already a thing of the past.

The Medium Is the Message

“Numerous motivational factors explain why the third-part lineup thus far excels only in predictability,” reads Next Generation number 29, Volume 3. “One reason is directly linked to the Nintendo 64 business model which takes away a great deal of the profit potential for a third-party developer. Used to paying approximately $15 per disc for PlayStation, Saturn, and PC games, gamers pay about $35 for Nintendo cartridges and publishers must consider this carefully when planning games for the system.”

“‘From an inventory risk standpoint, we prefer working on CD platforms,’ admits Virgin Games’s Neil Young (in NG 29), which is part of the reason why Virgin is only developing one Nintendo 64 product as opposed to a number of games for competing CD-ROM systems. The bottom line is that when third parties have to pay Nintendo $35 up front for all the games they want to make, it requires a huge financial gamble.”

What happened to Battle Sport II and Contra 64? Why did we get Clay Fighter 63 1/3 and Dark Rift instead?

As we now know, Sony’s PlayStation usurped Nintendo as the market leader partially by wooing developers off Nintendo’s cartridge-based ideology. Developers and publishers alike were attracted to the possibilities of the CD-ROM, which provided more storage versus Nintendo’s cartridge storage capabilities, not to mention more flexible, less risky production scheduling. Publishers could store more video, art, and texture work required in the emerging 3D world of gaming on a CD than on a cartridge. And Nintendo’s rejection of the new technology (or at the very least misinterpretation of its power) played a major role in its stumble from the top.

Equally important to publishers were the economic issues involved with cartridges. There was no doubt in the mind of any smart executive that Nintendo would continue to be successful. Nobody had misgivings about the strength, brilliance, or popularity of Nintendo’s first-party games. Those would come and they would be great. Potentially they would open up sales, markets, and opportunities for third parties as well. Potentially.

How fun was Virgin's Freak Boy--a character that could turn into any weapon, instead of carrying it? And what is this, Ubisoft? Ed?

But the cartridge business all of a sudden looked riskier and far more expensive in comparison to the CD-ROM business. With cartridges–essentially individual chip sets plugged into the console–publishers had to guess how many cartridges to make in advance of the game’s release.

As many publishers had experienced with the NES and Super NES, guessing wrong on precise numbers (500,000 versus 900,000 units, for instance) could backfire in at least two ways. If they guessed short, they would have to queue up again to make more and potentially wait behind other publishers waiting to have their cartridges manufactured–and potentially lose sales during the waiting time. Publishers could miss the Christmas rush entirely if they guessed wrong.

Kirby Bowl transforms into Kirby's Air Ride. And of course, there is Mah Jong Master, wihch always threatened to arrive...

But if publishers guessed long and ordered too many, and customers didn’t buy as many as they had estimated, they would be stuck with extra, expensive cartridges. You always hear the real-life moral tale of Atari’s ET cartridges buried somewhere in the desert, but there is truth in that tale for all cartridge-based publishers. What do you do with thousands of pre-ordered cartridges that don’t sell? You could take Braid designer Jonathan Blow’s advice–to start at point zero and make a good game–but that’s easier said than done.

The PlayStation also touted 3D games with a hardware engine designed to create polygons and texture maps, not sprites. The Saturn, for instance, was a great sprite generating machine, and while the Nintendo 64 had serious power at the time, its storage and RAM limitations hampered the expanding demands gamers and developers were placing on better graphics and sound.

“[With CD-ROMs] publishers could provide more content without paying gigantic prices for memory,” explained Mike Mika, currently head of development at Other Ocean, and then soon-to-be associate editor at Next Generation. “No matter what size your game was, it was still just a single fixed cost. For Nintendo, you had a variety of cartridge sizes that became cost prohibitive very quickly. So you saw a lot of developers and publishers move to some exclusivity on PlayStation.”

Next Generation’s final argument in issue 29 crystallized the problem.

F-Zero, Zelda, and SIlicon Valley made it to N64, and all in great shape.

“Many software publishers are still smarting from huge losses on unsold cartridge games at the end of the 16-bit era, and the last thing they want to do is take another financial bath. So this means that no one wants to take any chances. Third parties will release only the safest, sure-fire winners for N64. And this, (when cemented by Nintendo’s demands for exclusivity which removes any profits from other versions) means tried-and-trusted no-brainer game recipes, big licenses, coin-op conversions–and a resounding ’snore’ from experienced gamers.”

Square and the Third Party Problem

Squaresoft and Enix were two of the biggest RPG-making companies in Japan. On all visible fronts, both looked like staunch Nintendo supporters with Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest having sold millions of copies in Japan, Europe, and North America on Nintendo’s previous systems.

While Square and Enix originally had stated they would support Nintendo’s system, in retrospect those statements proved differently. It was more than significant to see Square and Enix embrace the PlayStation and then quietly and politely distance themselves from Nintendo’s N64.

The biggest example was when Squaresoft’s Final Fantasy VII arrived on PlayStation in 1997. Sony Computer Entertainment America, which published the game in the U.S., proved its knack for marketing by positioning Final Fantasy VII as an action game in its TV commercials. The game, however, was anything but. Final Fantasy VII was a vast turn-based RPG with what seemed like hours of animated CG cutscenes. At the time, Squaresoft’s RPG was a remarkable visually stunning, and epic game. It sold millions of copies on PlayStation. If you were system agnostic, you bought your PlayStation and you were too were delighted. But to any Nintendo purist, Square’s FFVII on PlayStation felt like betrayal.

“The move by Square to CDs was very significant,” said Chris Charla, currently the VP of business development at Foundation 9 Entertainment, and former Editor-in-Chief of Next Generation Magazine. “First, it gave us a hint that Sony’s system might have some staying power… Seriously, it was really the ultimate seal of approval for optical media in games, and of course it marked a shift by third parties towards PlayStation as the system of choice.”

“It really made people understand what CD offered over cartridge,” added Mika. “There was no way that Nintendo could compete with the imagery and animation that Square put into Final Fantasy VII. People who were just starting to wake up to the next generation of gaming would look at FFVII and Zelda and see that FFVII was just simply a higher impact visually. It was in effect the better ‘book cover.’ And as far as marketing goes, that’s what you need to win people over. It looked better in commercials, screenshots, etc. Its brilliant use of FMV combined with real-time 3D was stunning.”

Brilliance and the Slow Decline

In winter 1997, early hardware and software sales figures indicated that despite Nintendo’s late entry into the marketplace with the Nintendo 64 (Nintendo switched the name from Ultra 64 many months after the Shoshinkai Exposition), the Redmond, Washington-based company had come out fighting.

According to TRST data (The Toy Retail Tracking System), an independent tracker of software sales, six of the 1996 holiday season’s best selling titles were Nintendo 64 titles. Those games included the season’s number one selling game, Super Mario 64, Star Wars Shadows of the Empire (#3), Killer Instinct Gold (#5), Cruis’n USA (#6), Wave Race 64 (#8), and Mortal Kombat Trilogy (#9). Super NES games Donkey Kong Country 2 and Donkey Kong Country 3 also made the top 10, leaving one Saturn and one PlayStation game in the top 10.

As Nintendo’s system built momentum, there were some key third-party titles: Konami’s International Superstar Soccer (AKA Pro Evolution or Winning 11), Midway’s Top Gear Rally, and a few others. Several elements kept N64 relatively close in the market race, but third-party support and consistent quality games were rarely part of the equation.

Second-party developer Rare, however, emerged into a powerhouse force during the N64 years. Best known for early hits Battletoads and Jetpac, and Super NES hits Donkey Kong Country 2 and 3, Rare hit its stride with N64, producing creative hits such as Blast Corps, breaking movie-game stereotypes with the first genuinely good console first-person shooter, GoldenEye 007, and producing clutch games such as Diddy Kong Racing for the otherwise empty Christmas holiday of 1997. Additional Rare hits included Donkey Kong 64, Jet Force Gemini, Perfect Dark, and what many critics consider Rare’s best game, Conker’s Bad Fur Day.

Ocean didn't want us to reveal that Mission Impossible's lead character had a face that merged John Travolta's and Tom Cruise's, due to Cruise's refusal to use his likeness in the game.

The supreme irony of Nintendo 64’s decline in sales and support was that Shigeru Miyamoto’s most transforming, innovative, and visionary work was done on N64. Today, Super Mario 64 remains one of the greatest games ever because of Miyamoto’s ability to successfully bring Nintendo’s flagship franchise into the 3D realm while remaining true to the original. In Mario 64, Miyamoto addressed and, in most cases, solved the difficulty that plagued many developers years after–the 3D camera.

Zelda shows us what it means to target with a Z.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was even more visionary. Aside from introducing key innovative mechanics (which are staples in game mechanics today) such as Z-targeting (some might argue this same technique was simultaneously introduced in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver), and contact sensitive actions, Ocarina of Time evolved story-telling techniques by jumping in time and portraying Link as both a young and grown character. The time-jumping technique also delivered real consequences to earlier actions made in the game. Other clever innovations involved the use of the ocarina. The ocarina had an extraordinary emotional effect on players who had to memorize tunes, which then cast magic on characters and items, enabling Link to progress.

Next Generation called Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time the “game of the century,”‘ under Charla’s editorial direction. Future’s sister publication in England, Edge, in 2007 reported Ocarina of Time as the “best game of all time,” according to its reader poll.

The 64DD did arrive, but in limited supply.

But even Nintendo had problems with how to deliver The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time to its cartridge system. The Bulky Drive, later known as the 64DD, was originally planned as the defacto peripheral on which the game would arrive. But the 64DD (1999) arrived after Ocarina of Time (1998), and never took off. Nintendo, instead, doubled the size of its cartridge to 32 MBs and fit Zelda onto it, the biggest cartridge Nintendo had ever created.

Well before Nintendo 64’s five-year cycle had come to a close, the Nintendo 64, despite an impressive start and significant first- and second party games peppering its lifespan, continued to lose significant market share to Sony while third-party support dropped precipitously. By 1999, when the Dreamcast shipped, even companies like Midway and Acclaim, original members of the “Dream Team,” stopped supporting N64.

Sony’s win with the PlayStation was due to a combination of factors. First, Sony bet on the right storage medium. Equally important, however, was that Sony had earned market leadership by wooing and grooming third-party publishers who created a massive library of games that reached into all genres and sub-genres. It created its own first- and second-party hits such as Gran Turismo, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Twisted Metal, JetMoto, and NFL GameDay, to name just a few. But one could question that if Nintendo, despite all its creative strides in software, had picked a different, better technology, the 32-bit generation console wars would have emerged much differently.

Yuke Yuke Troublemakers was a weird a wonderful game, just like all of Treasure's game.

How would Nintendo take these lessons and apply them to its next system, the GameCube? And how would Nintendo build upon Rare’s second-party strategy? And how would technology ultimately be the issue that Nintendo would tackle in a totally unique way? Look for part 3 of “Looking Back: Nintendo’s Fall” soon.

L is 133t is now live!  If you don’t know what this is all about, check out the “About” page.  If you already know about the mysterious plaque, please check out the other pages and see if there’s anything you can contribute to the site.  All contributions are greatly appreciated, and can come in any form–writing, pictures, vids, anything!

My current top five video games of all time:

5. Halo: Combat Evolved

4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

3. Resident Evil 5

2. Star Craft: Brood War

1. Super Mario 64