Points of Interest – 7/9/09
- We’ve all seen favorite video game franchises die, seemingly cut down before their time. Though sometimes, they aren’t exactly as dead as we think. There was a good bit of time and an entire console generation between Super Metroid and the double-whammy of Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion, for example, and over a decade before Mega Man 8 saw a proper sequel. And though Bionic Commando had a Game Boy release and even a Game Boy Color semi-sequel produced by Nintendo, 20 years on and it’s back in full force… that is, assuming that what seems to be low sales don’t wind up stuffing it back into the closet.
So though it may take a while for a video game franchise to step back into the spotlight, I’m not sure any can ever truly be called “dead.” I’m still confident there will be a MegaMan Legends 3– the only question is “when?”
Nonetheless, that has not stopped GameDaily from assembling “Eight Surefire Ways to Kill A Video Game Franchise.”
I can definitely echo #3, and it shows the precise reason I hate cliffhangers at the end of video games. But #4? Mega Man? Seriously? 1: It’s not dead, and 2: Which 3D game? It rebounded after X7, and Legends had three good installments (well, two and one side-story), and the Mega Man franchise is still doing pretty well for itself.
- I have less to say about their other article, “20 Totally Overused Words in Game Names,” except to say “how many of you noticed the frequent reuse of these words?”
- I’ve never been a big fan of the 3D aesthetic which essentially made up the foundation of the PlayStation/Nintendo 64 era. Nintendo had trained me to love rendered graphics with Donkey Kong Country and Killer Instinct, and my jaw dropped the first time I saw Super Mario 64– and not in a good way.
I said “you have got to be kidding me,” and prayed that the game was still in in early development. “They can fix it, they can refine it… they have the time, they have the technology” I told myself. Seeing the rendered Mario and Bowser they used for promo art only added salt in the wound, however. Thankfully, in-depth previews from the likes of Next Generation sufficiently hyped me up so that I didn’t even care.
Some people appreciate the graphics of the era, and I can sort of understand that– after all, I love pixel artwork from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras; it just holds a certain charm to me. But for me, the early goings of 3D are better left in the past.
There are exceptions, though. While Mario and Link did little for me, some games came out pretty well. I think Metal Gear Solid, Bushido Blade, and even MegaMan Legends all hold up pretty well compared to some titles, perhaps due in part to featuring designs made for the limitations of the day, rather than shaping pre-existing concepts into the form.
But even then, I never found the female figures of the day, with but a few exceptions, to be very attractive. That people were lusting after Lara Croft, who I had first seen on a cover of Next Generation with eyes that looked simply… wrong, that bewildered me. And so it is with this in mind that I can appreciate GamesRadar’s assembly of “Ugly polygon “babes” of yesteryear,” a collection of “39 terrifying monsters we used to think were sexy.”
Of course, that’s not to say that some of these games weren’t good; I’d love a new or remade Rival Schools as much as anyone. Also, I should say that I’m quite glad Nintendo made Super Mario 64 DS, which I feel upgraded things significantly. Even so, I’m still glad for the GameCube era, when things finally looked good in 3D.
- Via GoNintendo, we have more cosplay. Only this time, it’s the 20 most badass video game cosplay costumes ever.
- Wow, now here’s an oldie I never got to do anything with, via Kotaku.
Video game journalism is pretty well-maligned, “not real journalism,” etc. But over at GameDaily, the non-”top X list of things to drive you nuts” part, they have a pretty good case for it by one Gus Mastrapa, and you can read what he has to say here.
And now I feel a little bit better about myself.
–LBD “Nytetrayn”