Told you there would be more. And today’s is pretty much video game-centric; I’ll try to diversify more in the future. And for those who caught yesterday’s SEGA-centric edition, there’s still more in here.

1. I thought I had gotten all of the Sonic the Hedgehog stuff, but I guess I missed one or two things. In either case, whether you like the Blue Blur or not, the fifth collection of Sonic Shorts is worth seeing. And for that matter, the other four volumes aren’t bad, either.
2. Also of some amusement, from one of the contributors to the above: Sonic Halo. The very thought of a legion comprised of the different Robotniks/Eggmen is intriguing to me.
3. 1UP’s RPG blog has an article about “Better Understanding Fire Emblem.” Perhaps it means more to people who have played other tactical/strategy games, though.

   Which reminds me, I should really give Advance/Battalion Wars a try sometime.

4. Games Radar has a feature that’s all about Mario. The Many Faces of Mario, in fact. As it turns out, everyone’s favorite plumber has evolved quite a bit since he first broke onto the scene.

   Personally, I would love nothing more than a Japanese-styled art book full of illustrations of Mario and his cast from over the years; the early days are particularly interesting, as the look would change from one illustration to the next.

   Me? I have kind of a soft spot for the images used to illustrate the original Super Mario Bros. instruction manual, as well as the marquee for the Vs. Super Mario Bros. arcade game. In fact, I’d still love to get my hands on one of those, just to hang somewhere in my home.

   Conversely, two of my favorite games in the series have provided some of my least-favorite illustrations of the character. Those used in the original instruction manual for Super Mario Bros. 2 never quite set right with me; if memory serves, part of this was the lack of color in the characters’ eyes. Sure, Mario & Luigi does the same thing, but they pull it off better, I think. SMB2 seemed to remove the iris while keeping the pupil the same size, while M&L increased the black pupil area to compensate. I think that makes quite the difference.

   Of course, there have been better-looking remakes of the SMB2 art which include the irises, and other art within Nintendo Power that’s been superb.

   The other one I find myself less than pleased with? Super Mario World. Actually, most of the art for this is great, I’d say the vast majority. It’s only the odd illustration that strikes me as “something isn’t quite right.” And ironically, despite it popping up enough times over the years to drive me nuts, I can’t find the illustration I’m thinking of. However, there are some versions of it on the cover of the Mario Mania Player’s Guide, notably the caped Mario and the similar Mario in the puzzle at the bottom. It’s almost as though the eyes were too small or something. But the fact that I can’t seem to find the illustration elsewhere online actually relieves me a little.

   As for some of the stranger works in the article, I actually like them for their bizarre contrasts to the norm. And I always dug the clay Mario models; in fact, I rather miss them now.

5. Speaking of that 1UP Retronauts link, Bob Mackey over there ran a series of nice, nostalgic pieces for his “Strategy Guide Hall of Fame,” covering the Nintendo Power Super Mario Bros. 3 strategy guide, and the batch of initial Player’s Guides which Nintendo introduced around the time the Super NES hit the scene. Sadly, 1UP’s lousy search engine and a near-useless tag system makes finding the others a little more difficult, but if you come across them in the archive, they’re good for bringing back some warm, fuzzy memories.
6. It’s sort of like Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, except these estates usually wind up as rubble by the time the curtain falls. Maxim asks How Much Are Video Game Castles Worth? That’s right, now you too can find out just how much money likely went into the place where your shattered corpses piled up in the basement.

   Wow, thinking back, I spent so much time drawing a number of these as a kid. And what I wouldn’t have done for an awesome Wily’s Castle playset. Or Koopa’s. Of course, the bizarre lack of action figures for either property when I was a kid no doubt hurt both prospects.

7. GoNintendo links to a Destructoid post which reminisces about the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book, adding “It’s time to take a look at the comics and cartoons that manage to do a better job of giving us classic Sonic than recent games do.”

   For me, Sonic is a comic character first and foremost; the games are secondary. I really recommend them to anyone who likes the character; even if you fell away from the comic after a while, it’s worth looking at again.

8. Courtesy of Timothy McSweeney: Dr. Mario Weighs in on Universal Health Care. That should tell you all you need to know to click.
9. Fear the Claw takes a look into Classic Nintendo Games That Haven’t Been Remade, But Should Be. Wow, quite a mouthful. Nonetheless, I agree with the vast majority of these entries.

   I think for Super Mario Land in particular, a lot could be done: A full-blown remake with new graphics, enhanced sound, and perhaps new levels within the four kingdoms of Sarasaland; a “remix” mode, which would basically be the core Super Mario Land game with the updated assets, and then the bare-bones original, in glorious(?) black-and-white.

   I’m a little less sure about #6 in part 2, however. At least on the music; I’d love to see Donkey Kong Country remade with graphics not unlike, say, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. Donkey Kong Land, on the other hand, could definitely use a graphical boost.

   #8, meanwhile, has been a cause I’ve been pulling for over the years. I wish a Player’s Choice version of the Game Boy Advance remake of Super Mario Bros. 3 had been released, with all the eReader stuff unlocked… or at least available on the game itself. I would have gladly forked over the money again for that. There is some seriously wild stuff included in those cards that’s worth playing for real Mario fans.

   And for the heck of it, one more not on the list: Donkey Kong. The Game Boy version, that is. I’d settle for it just being polished up with more colorful graphics on WiiWare, but truly enhanced graphics and sound? I would be all over that.

10. I have to admit, the fan game Mushroom Kingdom Fusion just keeps looking better and better with every pass. But they keep adding so much… I wonder if it will ever truly be finished?

    Here is the channel, for those who want to see what this thing has to offer. As for the video I earmarked that reminded me of it, a sidescrolling Link is going through a nice looking nighttime city with some cool music here.

    They also show off what the potential of a Super Mario Land remake could look and sound like here, though I’d want something a little more accurate to the unique aspects of the original game, though that version of the boss battle is rather neat.

    Now, if they’d just use better Super Mario and Super Luigi sprites than those lousy SMB3 versions…

11. And that makes for a perfect segue into another pair of Games Radar articles. They recently decided to pore over the entire playable history of Sonic the Hedgehog in order to determine Which Version of Sonic is the Best Version of Sonic. All in all, I think they made a pretty good choice.

    Then, they figured “you can’t do one without the other,” and so gave Mario the same treatment. However, I really disagree with their final choice. Black overalls? And you can’t even see the whites of his eyes! In truth, I always felt that the Super sprite in Super Mario Bros. 3 was a step down from the one in Super Mario Bros. 2– doubly so, if you count the fact that Luigi returned to being a palette-swap of Mario again for this game and World… at least, until they got remakes.

    It’s also kind of hypocritical to fault the original Super Mario Bros. version for its walk, when Super Mario World, one of their favorites, did the very same thing!

    As I said in their comments: “I think New Super Mario Bros. or Super Mario Bros. 2 would have to be the best; NSMB has all the moves, and SMB2 was the best looking one on the NES or Super NES, and was only improved in Super Mario Advance. SMB3‘s was a downgrade from SMB2‘s, in my opinion.”

    That would probably have read better as “NES and Super NES.” I should add that even when enhanced for Super Mario All-Stars and the Game Boy Advance remakes, Super Mario Bros. 2 still looked better.

    One other part that I’m unsure of: The criticism of the current Mario, the rendered version we see in everything from Mario Kart to Mario Party, and almost everywhere in between. Personally, it doesn’t bother me; I rather like the standardization of the characters. On the other hand, I remember being disappointed that in Super Mario Sunshine, Mario and Co. didn’t have all the detail of their Melee models. I’ve gotten over it now, but I have to wonder if those who don’t like the “standard” Mario would appreciate that version more. Or rather, Brawl‘s, since that’s more recent and touched up more.

12. GameTrailers has assembled a nice video package which gives us a look at the evolution of Punch-Out!!, then and now.

    We’ve talked a bit about characters appearing differently over the years, but I think none have seen more drastic changes than Little Mac.

13. For a different look at the history of Punch-Out!!, be sure to check out Steve McCutchen’s Rise and Fall of the World Video Boxing Association. It’s actually a fun fictional look at the organization and how it’s survived over the years. And in some ways, it really reminds me of WWE.
14. Here’s another SEGA moment. Yu Suzuki recently stepped down from the position he had held at the company, now taking on a lesser role. Games Radar pays tribute to Yu Suzuki’s Five Finest Moments.
15. And finally, Edge Online takes a look at what it calls “Nintendo’s Fall.” Which has spurned a response from Geekbox which contests that Nintendo has always done well, just perhaps not as well. However, they’ve always run in the black, so they just might have some idea of how to conduct their business.

    And really, they have to: Video games is practically their only business, unlike Microsoft and Sony, who merely have divisions dedicated to their home consoles and platforms.

Wow, that took about an hour longer than I had planned. Hope that holds you guys for another week!

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 12th, 2009 at 3:00 pm and is filed under Points of Interest. 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.