Hmm, not to blow my own horn or anything, but I feel good about this update. Lotta juicy tidbits built up over the weekend, and I just feel a little chatty besides. Let’s dig in and see what we’ve got…

1. If you still haven’t gotten your hands on Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, you should probably check your local Toys R Us, as they seem to have it at a major, MAJOR markdown: $9.9…8? 5? Under ten dollars, at any rate.

   You can’t beat that. You just can’t.

2. I don’t mean for this to come off as insensitive, which I fear it just might.

   But I am getting really sick and damn tired of this happening.

   RIP, Crush.

3. TransFormers news, courtesy of our friends at The Allspark! “The Allspark: For When Other Bots Tell You To ‘Get A Life,’ That’s The Allspark.”

   Anyway, it sounds as though the current head honcho of the TransFormers comic universe, Chris Ryall, paid our friends in Rhode Island (not the Griffins, but good guess) a little visit, wherein he got to see some upcoming goodies. Among those would be an animated adaptation of his company, IDW’s, prequel for the recent movie, which will be of all things a special feature in the Wal-Mart release of the DVD, due some time in the future (my money is on “before Christmas”).

   Glad to know for once Target may not have the best deal going.

   Speaking of IDW, check out their November solicitations, including a nice cover for TransFormers: Devastation #3, featuring Wheeljack and a very Alternators-ish Hot Rod.

   Remy’s galleries are as good as gold, and in this case, filled with it as well, since he’s finished his photoshoot with the Japanese-exclusive gold Movie Bumblebee.

   If you missed Robot Chicken‘s third season premiere on Sunday, fret not as it’s available to view online, even in Canada! Witness as Soundwave is forced to cope with being an ’80′s tape player in an MP3 world. Plus, the legendary Frank Welker reprises his roles as Soundwave AND Megatron!

4. NECA’s Castlevania figures are now available for preorder at Corner Store Comics, including the SDCC special “Pixel” Simon!
5. Atomic Fire has posted two reports regarding Ryuusei no Rockman 2, the sequel to the game recently released here as MegaMan Star Force.

   Capcom of Japan expects it to be released in November, but it’s hard to say when we may get it. Interesting that it’ll only have two versions this time; guess three didn’t pan out so well before.

6. Big ol’ update on Smash Bros. Dojo today!

   First comes the Japanese-only Devil of Devil’s World for the Famicom, an assist trophy who… well, does a poor job of assisting. Not to say he’s ineffective; from the looks of things, he might just be a little too effective!

   But the big one is a double-dip as we behold a new challenger, a fighter who lets others do all the fighting for him, the Pok?mon Trainer!

   In a unique twist, the Pok?mon Trainer stands in the background and uses the Pok?mon change, wherein he recalls and sends out Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard to throw down. He’s been likened to Sheik, but with a twist.

   One still has to wonder, though… what will this character be like to use in “The Subspace Emissary?” And for that matter, could we possibly see a rival trainer show up, armed with different Pok?mon? Will Charizard still be available in Pok?balls?

   It’ll be neat to try this guy out, but all the same, I expect that Mario and I will probably wind up teaming up again to kick some Ash.

7. Yeah, I know it’s not specifically Ash. Just go with it.
8. Evidently, there was a slight snag in the last Wii firmware update. But worry not, things are under control. Just be polite when the short plumber knocks on your door, and don’t be afraid to let him in.
9. Just as the sun rises and sets, and Monday follows Sunday, so too does the Virtual Console update with a nearly predictable regularity. Not that anyone’s really complaining.

   This week, the SEGA Genesis is Shining in the Darkness while TurboGrafx16 gets into some comical mischief in Cratermaze.

   And then there’s… hoo-boy. Metroid for the NES. A fun blast from the past, and totally worth the 500 points, provided you haven’t already gotten the game from the NES Classics GBA release, or unlocked it from Metroid Prime(with Metroid Fusion), or Metroid: Zero Mission, which is a superior remake of this particular chapter anyway and includes the original.

   Totally worth the 500 points… if you don’t already have one of the other formats it’s slept around with. The plus side is, unlike Kid Icarus, it seems that special codes (specifically “Justin Bailey”) work as well here as they ever did.

   On a related note: Nintendo, please. Metroid II remake, please.

   As for the rest of this week’s downloads, what’s hot and what’s not? The Frog will tell thee.

10. Speaking of Metroid, Nintendo has shown they aren’t finished teasing us with Prime 3 yet, and not by a long shot. Two more movies were available on the Wii today, and in case you weren’t able to catch them there, then GameTrailers has you covered as you behold the Spider-Ball (does whatever a Spider-Ball does), and the mysterious-yet-disturbingly familiar Aurora Unit.
11. It’s the end the road, Mother Brain! And King Koopa!

    Yep, the final animated adventures of Captain N and the Mario Bros. are finally on their way to DVD, out to elude me once more.

    Unlike Matt, though, my impressions probably won’t be any different now than as a kid; if anything, I tend to catch more references and such in old cartoons that I just didn’t get when I was a kid.

    But at any rate, I taped a lot of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, Captain N, and Super Mario World, and would pull them out from time to time over the years, so I know the score. (Syndicated airings on the old Family Channel didn’t hurt, either.) Sadly, my VCRs haven’t held up nearly as well, making the DVDs even more appealing, plus the nice bonuses. (Of course, YouTube and the internet at large have been good to me as well.)

    Yeah, the soundtracks aren’t the same, but what are you going to do? I still want my Super Mario Bros. 3.

12. I am so glad I am not an Earthbound/Mother fan.

    And I say that with no disrespect to the franchise or the fans of it. But the fact is, it almost seems that they are made to suffer in ways no other fandom can even begin to imagine.

    What’s more, it might just get worse, as supposedly Super Smash Bros. Brawl is said to have elements that would spoil the unreleased Mother 3, which has not seen any signs hinting of a US release yet, and which fans are working feverishly, now more than ever, to finish a translation patch for before Nintendo’s premiere fighting party game hits shelves.

13. Sonic Riders. Sequel. Whee. *waves a tiny flag, blows a small party favor*

    I’ll only throw confetti if someone else cleans it up.

14. Know anyone who likes Madden? If so, maybe this is a good opportunity to get them a present, and a little something for yourself, too.
15. If this is true, then it’s truly idiotic.

    What the hell? I mean, really.

16. Seems that Wizard World was privy to a screening of The Dark Knight, the next Batman movie, and shows off a bit of Heath Ledger as The Joker.

    I’m still unsure about this rendition. He looks kind of diseased, and I don’t mean in his mind.

17. So EA is conducting a survey to find out what the best name for the Wii Zapper mode for their next Medal of Honor should be called. We have:

    -Rail Mode
    -Boot Camp Mode
    -Casual Mode
    -Easy Mode
    -Arcade Mode
    -Recruit Mode
    -Training Mode
    -Other (please specify)

    I vote: Other. I think the most “appealing” name would be “Gun Me Down Some Bitches!” mode.

    But then again, that’s what I think whenever I see someone holding the Zapper, so maybe it’s not the best, or most distinct, qualifier.

18. Believe it or not, some scrutinous reporters painstakingly analyzed the E3 Mario Kart Wii video in order to put together this preview.

    I think it’d be neat if the Double Dash!! style returned as a seperate mode. Hopefully the original Battle Mode courses will make a return, and I really hope we don’t have to blow up our own balloons again… not the worst idea in the world, except that it kind of requires you to switch your focus from driving and dodging…

19. Errrr… wait.

    So does this mean that maybe Chibi-Robo isn’t a Wal-Mart exclusive, after all?

20. We all know about the XBox 360′s infamous “Red Ring of Death,” right? Three of four red lights come on when the system is busted, indicating it needs to be fixed.

    Well, if three are bad, then surely four must be worse, right?

    Eh, not quite. It just means that the video cable has come out, somehow.

    “According to Kotaku, the similarity between the two error displays has caused so much confusion that Microsoft is planning on ditching the four-ring version.”

    GEE, GOOD THINKING.

21. If you’re in the market for an XBox 360, then the time is good.

    Bundle after bundle are coming out, the latter available now and the former around the holidays.

22. Making it better still is that the hit game Dead Rising has gone platinum, retailing now at… $30?!

    Sheesh, I remember when these Platinum/Greatest Hits/Players Choice games were at $20 (American, natch).

    Yeah, this will probably get worse before it gets better.

    And there’s still nothing to say you can read it without HDTV. Sorry, Capcom. Maybe next time.

23. With the marketing machine under way, I just wonder what would happen if Halo 3 had to be delayed unexpectedly.

    Well, someone might be fired, maybe. Whatever would happen, I can’t imagine it being particularly good for anyone except maybe Sony. Maybe Nintendo.

    But no one else. Maybe.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 14th, 2007 at 7:25 am and is filed under The Daily 'Shroom. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.