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Post by Nester the Lark on Oct 23, 2023 10:44:40 GMT -5
So, I’ve rolled the credits on Super Mario Bros Wonder. I simply did a casual playthrough. I did not get 100 percent, but I’m going back through it to do that now. Here are my spoiler-free impressions.
This game was exactly what I hoped it would be.
As you probably know, I prefer the 2D Mario games to the 3D ones. For many years, I watched as the 3D games were filled with creativity and exuberance. Meanwhile the 2D “New” series, while admittedly solid platform games, felt a bit dry. I always wondered why the 2D games couldn’t have the same level of inspiration as the 3D ones. But Wonder finally takes the 2D series into that realm.
There is debate about whether Yoshi’s Island counts as a true Mario game or not, despite being branded as Super Mario World 2. I love Yoshi’s Island – it’s a 10/10 game for me – but I never felt like it fit in with the other Super Mario Bros games. It feels more like its own thing. Wonder, on the other hand, feels like the *real* Super Mario World 2. It’s a true evolution of what that game was, but with the same level of creativity that Yoshi’s Island had, and feels like it belongs among other Super Mario Bros games.
There are two other aspects that added a lot more to the game than I expected. One is the online mode where the ghosts of other players appear in the same level as you in real time. While each player is in their own version of the level, and not directly affecting others, there’s some minor, yet meaningful interaction. There are four emotes that you can display for communication. You earn heart points for helping other players, or for jumping on the flagpole at the same time. It makes the game feel lively and collaborative without being intrusive. These little interactions were some of the coolest moments I’ve had with the game.
The other aspect is the talking flowers. I guess your mileage will vary on this, but I found them charming and funny, and they added a lot to the game’s personality.
Super Mario Bros Wonder is the 2D Mario game I’ve been wanting for 30 years. It lives up to the classics from my childhood. I was starting to think that maybe it was just my age, and 2D Mario was just too familiar for me to be impressed by it anymore, but Wonder proves that isn’t the case. This is the Super Mario that I fell in love with as a kid, and I’m falling in love with it again.
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Post by Nester the Lark on Oct 18, 2023 19:23:44 GMT -5
Here's a speedrun of Gyromite on NES, but the runner is a dog.
Also, this run has been accepted for Awesome Games Done Quick 2024.
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Post by Nester the Lark on Oct 18, 2023 9:49:37 GMT -5
Here are Part 3 and Part 4. Highlights: - The game took inspiration from the 3D Mario games in that they wanted players to be creative and come up with their own ways of getting through a stage rather than relying entirely on skill to get through them the way the developers intended. - The talking flowers came from an idea to include a live running commentary in the game. At one point in development, they had a tsundere commentator. I love the idea of a commentator that "riffs" on the player in a humorous way as they play through the game, maybe something like the secret sarcastic commentator in Wave Race: Blue Storm. I don't think the flowers ended up quite like that, though, but it's still a fun idea. - The "casual connection" online mode was intended to avoid negative experiences with other players, such as differences in skill level, or players that deliberately want to troll other players. - There's a secret character from the 3D Mario games. I'm guessing maybe Rosalina.
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Post by Nester the Lark on Oct 17, 2023 11:11:01 GMT -5
Thought I'd go ahead and create a thread for Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Not sure how much we'll use it, but I wanted a place to post the Ask the Developer interview. I'll also probably post my impressions after I play the game. Here is Part 1 and Part 2 of the interview. Some interesting bits: - Players and journalists felt that Super Mario Maker 2 made it unnecessary to ever create another 2D Mario game, but Tekashi Tezuka felt optimistic they could create something completely different. - There was no deadline set for development so that the entire team would be free to come up with whatever ideas they wanted. - They wanted the characters and enemies to be more expressive. This was not directly influenced by the movie, but they wanted to make a game that wouldn't disappoint players who had seen the movie. - Koji Kondo was the sound director, and also composed some of the music himself. - Working remotely from home may have added to the creativity because there was no limit to the number of people that could participate in meetings.
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Post by Nester the Lark on Oct 13, 2023 17:47:52 GMT -5
Following data mining on the in-store demo for Super Mario Bros. Wonder, it has been officially revealed that the new voice of Mario and Luigi is Kevin Afghani. It seems he's only been voice acting for a few years, and isn't really known for much. But good luck to him. He's got big shoes to fill.
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Post by Nester the Lark on Oct 10, 2023 10:00:50 GMT -5
The Happy Console Gamer imported Ys X, and here are his impressions:
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Post by Nester the Lark on Oct 4, 2023 8:31:11 GMT -5
Nintendo has announced the end of online services for the Wii U and 3DS systems in April 2024. Nintendo of America support pageNintendo of Europe support pageBasically, online play will become unavailable for most games. Pokemon Bank will still be available. You will be able to redownload software and updates for the foreseeable future. StreetPass will still be available, but SpotPass is ending.
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Post by Nester the Lark on Sept 29, 2023 8:41:50 GMT -5
Here's an alpha version teaser for Black Finger Jet. This is more Metal Slug-like than even I expected.
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Post by Nester the Lark on Sept 28, 2023 20:43:48 GMT -5
Composer Yuzo Koshiro recently posted this on eX-Twitter:
I guess it all just boils down to there not being a general consensus about whether the term is offensive or not. There are different ways to interpret a connotation from it, and whether you find the term negative or not might depend on what you think the intent was behind it.
Maybe it's also just becoming one of those gaming terms that some people get bent out of shape over, like "metroidvania" and "shmup".
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Post by Nester the Lark on Sept 26, 2023 8:47:30 GMT -5
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Post by Nester the Lark on Sept 25, 2023 20:11:26 GMT -5
I was waiting for a Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Maximus Cup last year and it never happened. I gave up hope long ago.
It seems a little random at this point, but hey, better late than never!
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Post by Nester the Lark on Sept 21, 2023 10:22:29 GMT -5
On their live stream, NISA just announced the official localization for Kuro no Kiseki. The English title is Trails through Daybreak. They also confirmed a Switch version. It's due out Summer 2024. Trailer:
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Post by Nester the Lark on Sept 17, 2023 9:23:36 GMT -5
So, I've been completely hooked on this game since it came out.
I was a little taken aback by all the negative reactions I saw online when it was revealed. I thought people wanted a new F-Zero. But I noticed that a lot of the negativity wasn't about the game itself, but more because some people were disappointed that it wasn't a different game. Personally, I was not disappointed because I knew that if Nintendo was going to bring back F-Zero, it would be in a rather conservative fashion. They weren't going to put a lot of resources into a big budget game or remaster only to risk it selling poorly like GX did.
Meanwhile, the positive reactions to it have been from people that have actually played it.
It's actually quite well done and very addictive. It runs great on a technical level. It's consistently smooth, and I've not yet experienced any lag or disconnects. Not to mention, F-Zero lends itself really well to this format. I think it's probably the best in the "99" series since Tetris 99.
Best of all, it's a true F-Zero. This isn't like a generic racing game with F-Zero graphics, or DLC for Mario Kart. It actually feels like F-Zero. It maintains the core gameplay, and requires the kind of skill and concentration I expect from the series. It was made by people who clearly understand what the series is about.
I can't stress enough how good it feels to play a new F-Zero. I hope it's successful enough for Nintendo to do more with the series in the future.
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Post by Nester the Lark on Sept 16, 2023 9:53:10 GMT -5
So, one of my favorite Twitch streamers I like to watch is LordBBH ( YouTube channel). He's basically an expert on arcade games, and has gotten 1CCs in almost 600 different games on stream (if he hasn't already passed that). Anyway, he recently started a new series called "Push to Reject" in which he highlights obscure, less talked about arcade games, discussing them and showing some gameplay. As part of the series, he's covered a few early Nintendo arcade games, including Sheriff, Helifire, and of course, Radar Scope. I thought it was interesting, so I wanted to share them. (Mild language warning.)
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Post by Nester the Lark on Sept 14, 2023 14:23:17 GMT -5
Interestingly, Nintendo has a short developer interview with some of the original staff. It doesn't reveal anything surprising, although it's interesting that Yasuyuki Honne says he really wanted to remake them from the ground up.
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