What the what? I had to do a double take when I saw this news, as Shatae has all of a sudden hit the gaming limelight three times this year and these last two titles are going to no doubt get her on the minds of many more gamers out there. Granted, the currently in development Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse is ONLY for the Nintendo 3DS (but I’m guessing it will run on the new 2DS), but I and I’m betting nearly every Vita owner wants their own version of this game so they can see what all the fuss is about. I’m gathering Wayforward needs to hear from Vita owners (and PS3/PS4 owners) because this magic gal is the life of the party when it comes to delivering the classic gaming greatness that’s never going to die. Color me happier by the minute – keep it up Wayforward and the top of my head will flip clean off from smiling too broadly!
After a pretty crappy early part of the day… now I actually feel like dancing around the room (but I’m in the library today and that’s not a really good idea). Anyway, WayForward Technologies is indeed working on a new Shantae game for anything that can play it (consoles and PC are the main targets) and YES, you should drop a few bucks to fund it for the stretch goals to make it even better. Here’s a peek at the pitch:
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is the name of the game and it’s already set for a release on a few platforms (it’s already confirmed for Wii U, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Windows PC via Steam), but WayForward wants to make the game even bigger and is offering up some awesome bonuses as well as cool stretch goals if they fly way over their target. You know the drill: You have a month to pledge (well, 29 days and counting down) and this one’s worth your time to check out just because you’re a fan of the company’s work or you’ve never played a cute as hell platformer with a genie (or half-genie) before and Shantae’s shimmy has you intrigued.
I used to work in a game shop years back and I actually passed up the chance to buy a copy of the original Shantae, which was a DUMB move on my part as that old Game Boy Color title fetches a few hundred bucks thanks to a low production run (and the fact that the game is really fantastic). I’ve missed out on the sequels thanks to them being digital only (boo!), but I’m backing this new game because it’s coming out on a few platforms I can actually get it for (I’ll probably get a Wii U version just to use that GamePad more than I currently do). Anyway, I’m off to that screening I noted in the above post – go make WayForward happier and pledge towards this instant classic, I say…
Ay, Carumba! OK, Nintendo, just stop it. STOP IT. Seriously. People thought the 2DS was a big fat joke because it had been done to death as a joke meme when the 3DS was announced, but you guys ended up taking that back with last week’s official 2DS announcement. Of course, that led to MANY Nintendo 1DS joke images that got lame after the first dozen or so images, but here comes Nintendo, pulling off the biggest joke with an actual fake site for a nonexistent device that will to some people who think it’s actually a great idea, something they’d actually want to buy. Duh. Yeah, and yep, there’s a disclaimer on the site that’s worth a chuckle, yet insulting at the same time to anyone not used to Nintendo’s way of following their own path and ignoring the mobile market (for now).
Anyway, yuk it up while you can, people – when your fans start clamoring for that 1DS, you’ll wish you’d never cooked up this shortsighted gag…
As usual, Nintendo certainly isn’t following the crowd or path some would expect as yet again, they’ve whipped out some big surprises to get more money rolling into their hefty coffers. The latest eye-popper is a new handheld system, Nintendo 2DS, which is basically a fully functional 3DS with all the same features except the 3D slider (in other words, it will run everything the 3DS and 3DS XL does just fine, but not in 3D).
Its paradoxically chunky but slim form factor is clearly geared towards younger gamers (and collectors of Nintendo systems, of course), 2DS will launch on October 12 in the US for $129 (a European model also arrives on the same day) and is sure to get families with younger children snapping these up as gifts. While it looks bizarre (at least to me), reports from a few lucky journalists who’ve gotten some play time reveal 2DS is lighter and has a extremely sturdy construction (Nintendo is known for its nearly kid-proof handhelds) and that price point is quite attractive.
My biggest complaint about the Wii U is the lack of demos on the eShop (and yeah, yeah, I do KNOW many developers hate making demos). Anyway, The Wonderful 101 demo is now live and ready to play, so if you’ve a Wii U at home, this one’s a MUST play. Um, that is all (as I’m in the middle of downloading it myself). I can very safely say that my Wii U is VERY happy right about now… maybe I’ll post some impressions over the weekend or later. As for that title above, while I know the game will do well at retail, I don’t think it’s going to sell systems to very many people unless it’s to a handful who were waiting until the game dropped to buy in. Platinum makes some VERY excellent niche titles, but not games you want to run over old ladies to pick up a console for. Just stating the truth, kids.
That said, Nintendo has always carved its own path out in this industry, so other than some woes they’ve noted about being surprised at how difficult and expensive making the move to creating HD content has been, they’re pretty much set in their ways as to what they want to see in the future.
While I’m happy as hell that Earthbound has FINALLY been deemed worthy of a re-release, I’m not at all pleased that Nintendo has given it the cheapest treatment possible, tossing it onto the eShop as a digital-only download and missing the cool strategy guide and scratch & sniff cards packed in with the original boxed Super Nintendo version. Actually, the major beef I have is how Nintendo passed up the opportunity to do this up right as a combination physical/digital product that would have made them MORE money at the end of the day had the company merely polled its rather large user base with the following idea for a premium-priced retail Earthbound collection:
A fully localized Mother (the first game in the series) updated for the Wii U Gamepad
Earthbound (Mother 2)
A fully localized Game Boy Advance version of Mother 3 also updated for the Wii U Gamepad
voucher codes for eShop versions of all three titles for the 3DS
An art gallery, soundtrack download and perhaps unlockable images and movies from the cancelled Nintendo 64 version Mother 3
Perhaps even an interview or three with staff members from the development team about the making of the games for good measure.
Hell, I’d pay fifty bucks for that and I’d bet YOU would too. I could also see Nintendo making all of the games available as separate digital download titles for the 3DS and/or Wii U at about $10 each and raking in a profit on those with no problem. By treating the SNES game as a disposable commodity instead of giving it the respect it’s earned over time from folks who’ve either held on to the original cart, paid rent money for a vintage or used copy or (yuck) even illegally downloaded a ROM (and yes, that includes you folks playing those fan translations of the first and third game who don’t own and never intend to own the original carts because you’re too lazy to learn Japanese).
Granted, it’s hard to say if this set of games on a disc as noted above would even drive stagnant Wii U sales at all, but I’d bet if Nintendo announced my stupid idea as a project and asked the fans if they’d buy in, they’d see a great deal more interest in that new console they’re having a very hard time getting more of you out there to buy.
If you’ve never played Shantae previously, that’s because you missed out on buying a copy when it was on the GameBoy Color (or you didn’t pirate it, you scallywag!), thus not having the pleasure of playing one of the best 2D platformers on the handheld. Well, as of this Thursday she’s baaaaaack, and this time it’s on the eShop for the 3DS. I actually like that the dev team didn’t gussy their girl up in a shiny HD coating, as the game was so well animated and colored for the GBC that it still holds up today as a prime example of a platformer at its finest. The best thing is you can now snap this one up for a song and NOT have to pay something like $100 or more for a copy of the game (it got one production run, but was VERY hard to find even back when it was initially released). Or maybe you can buy up $100 worth of codes and give them out to lucky friends who happen to own a 3DS or 3DS XL, you nice person, you…
Still going strong after 30 years, Spelunker is one of those great games that gets a lot of love and hate for what it puts you through. On one hand, it’s a challenging game packed with treasures to grab and a satisfying sense of accomplishment each time you clear a level. On the other hand, it’s a REALLY and infuriatingly challenging game thanks to “the weakest action hero in the history of gaming”, and yes, that’s a selling point of this gem, folks. If you’re no fan of trial and error, the combination of this terminally frail dude, the need for pinpoint control and collecting air supplies scattered around the levels while avoiding death from everything from a VERY short fall to the small assortment of enemies will have you screaming at your TV within seconds… Continue reading →
Ah, Nintendo. old and reliably entertaining and yes, safe in many ways much like this classic Abbott & Costello routine. Nintendo is a rather special case, as the company seems to weather storms of negativity with an eternally sunny outlook that overlook a few pressing problems. Granted, part of the company’s issues stem from a combination of few internal and external pressures. Impatient gamers not quite realizing the company puts out games when they think they’re ready and not because they’re demanded (which takes time the content-devouring masses of today don’t seem to have) and a lineup of mostly old favorites that get rolled out seemingly at random while others sit on the sidelines until there’s a dev team free to work on them. Methinks Samus Aram is getting a little too much arm fat hanging out with that lazy Ridley as they catch up on “B” movie marathons on really lazy weekends. And don’t get me started as to what Slippy is up to in his spare time…
As a gamey old fart who truly appreciates this more “hand-crafted” approach, I love most of the company’s classic games quite a lot, as do millions of other devoted fans of all ages. That said, like a mom making the same favorite meals like clockwork each week, a little spice is probably necessary once in a while to kick things up a notch and appeal to a wider palate. Nintendo may be “safe” and a “special case” in one respect, but the other half of that coin is they’re also like that cute three-legged puppy you’ve adopted where you’ll sometimes find yourself laughing at it as well as with it as it playfully scampers about the room…
OK, so the live stream was a bit… c..h…op…p…y, ut here’s the YouTube version that runs just fine. Nintendo has yet again, charted its own path with games for it’s core users and some cool exclusives, not all of which I care a hoot about. Still, Pokemon X and Y, Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros Wii U and SSB 3DS. and the rest of the old favorites look spiffy indeed, that Windwaker HD remix is a must-play and the third-party games are certainly going to make the hardcore happy. I actually prefer Bayonetta’s old hair and costume, but Platinum knows what it’s doing with the character. And yes, The Wonderful 101 looks great. I’m dying to try those Art Academy tools once they’re released, so I’ll need to keep an eye on the eShop and Nintendo’s emails to see when they’re available. As for Monolith Soft’s work in progress X… wow – I’ll be keeping an eye on that and HOPING it’s not as draggy as Xenoblade Chronicles after about 20 hours in. That new game sure looks gorgeous in motion.
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