Well, except number eight. I think he apologized for that one. Incidentally, it was nice of them to pick a rather bad pic of the game.
TheShiznit.co.uk has an interesting feature (with some blinding titles) on the Top 10 Worst Movies for Product Placement. Personally, I liked how it was used in Demoition Man and Back to the Future; it’s easier to actually feel and understand how things have changed over the years if it’s something you actually know, rather than Cola brand cola or something.
–LBD “Nytetrayn”
I usually mention that I do most of my posting over at Kombo.com, for reasons I won’t go into here but which I’m sure most anyone can understand. That said, as I mentioned yesterday, I’m usually a bit gun-shy about linking to my stuff there. So here’s a question for you guys: would you like me to start?
Of course, I wouldn’t be posting just that stuff, but maybe throwing in the odd story here and there, or more, if people desired. Should I do it? Or would that seem too self-serving? I’d love to know your thoughts.
On with Points of Interest!
It is these characters which Official Nintendo Magazine has chosen to pay tribute to in their feature, “Unsung Mario Heroes.” Number one seems like he gets around a bit, but personally, I can’t believe that the second one has yet to return.
Three I think has mostly been replaced by Lakitu (though there are more reappearances than one might think), and four should have been in Super Mario Galaxy. There remains time to make it right with Galaxy 2, but I don’t see that happening.
Number seven’s entry has given me a completely new look at the character, in light of the mention of “reaching the goal.” If that was Nintendo’s intent… well played. Very, very well played.
It was also hard as nails, and I never beat it. Somehow, I didn’t mind though. It was just that cool.
Lens of Truth takes a look back at this classic, one which really should be released on Virtual Console.
Well, allow me to correct that: I love classic video game commercials. I don’t know if I’ve just gotten older and more cynical (and nostalgic), or if the newer ads are actually, in fact, just that bad. I know that it seems like fewer ads are capable of making me want the newest game advertised, that’s for sure.
Of course, the awesome Punch-Out!! ads for Nintendo’s recent Wii release are an exception. Pity they shelved some of them.
I digress, however. Among the early memorable ads I can remember are those belonging to the first three entries of Nintendo’s Metroid series, and 4 color rebellion has taken an analytical look at not only these commercials, but how they fare against their Japanese counterparts as well.
Japan? Now they can do commercials.
Interesting thing, though. While in retrospect, I think the Japanese Super Metroid commercial is the more favorable of the two, I think Nintendo more or less had to use what they did, given the rivalry they were facing from SEGA at the time.
It was time to fight back, and Nintendo was ready to have the greatest bounty hunter in the galaxy knocking at SEGA’s door.
Yahoo! Finance takes a look back at several such companies and whose changes worked, and whose didn’t, as well as why.
–LBD “Nytetrayn”
Ugh, I meant to have more updates for you guys, but then someone had to throw a link to TV Tropes in my way. And then the rest of the night just went all to Hell.
Still, not without an update; below, you’ll find my remembrances of the SEGA Genesis (which I will add pictures to later). And here, I don’t normally pimp my own work on-site, but it’s late and just more convenient this way.
SEGA America Blog has spent the past week looking back at the Genesis, and I link to all of their posts in this article on Kombo. What’s more, the 10th anniversary of the Dreamcast is coming soon, and courtesy of Kotaku, we find out what SEGA has in mind for it. Sort of.
I’ll try to bring more links and fun stuff tonight, but for now, enjoy this, and feel free to leave your SEGA Genesis memories in the comments here, or in the story below.
–LBD “Nytetrayn”
I’ve been doing the video game thing for quite a while, and as I do so, it has not escaped my attention that I’m really not getting any younger. In addition to not having as much time to play games, it also sometimes seems as though games don’t have as much time for me, either.
Over on GameSpite, Michael Ayles has written an interesting article about the “Aging Gamer,” which takes a look at gaming then and gaming now, and makes a few interesting suggestions as to how developers and publishers might better appeal to the “older gamer,” rather than continue to include enormous cutscenes that touch upon “deep” issues.
Just a quick update with some links I’ve got sitting around.
Though Konami seems to occasionally wheel him out as the series mascot for titles such as New International Track and Field, he never seems to have really been characterized very much at all. It seems as though every protagonist in Castlevania history has their role to play, but Simon’s only feels like a cog stuck somewhere in the middle.
People like Simon Belmont. I like Simon Belmont, I played the original Castlevania and Super Castlevania IV to death. Why does Judgment make him out to be a loser compared to Trevor? Hell, why do the Castlevania games do this, too?
What’s kind of sad is that the Captain N: The Game Master version of the character seems to be the only one with any sort of characterization.
Recently, Yahoo! Finance gathered up “10 Promotional Stunts That Horribly Backfired,” a few of which I remember vividly. Naturally, the God of War II promotion caught my attention when it happened, and there was also the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie promotion, the memory of which still adorns the banner of this site from time to time.
So, what is it that makes this one any more special than, say, any other Mega Man game for the Game Boy? GamingFringe takes an in-depth look at the game, although they seem to switch notations to a slightly bewildering degree in the early going.
I only wish that the Super Game Boy palette worked on the Game Boy Player or Game Boy Advance. But alas, I suppose all that is left to hope for now is that the game somehow finds its way to some sort of re-release, so that more people can enjoy it.
And except for 14, which is basically just a rehash of 7, I think my favorites are 10-15.
I considered mentioning Grand Theft Auto, but then I remembered that those games aren’t much for recurring characters.
In any case, Mario has most definitely been successful and enduring; he put Nintendo on the video game map in the early 80′s, he was a cultural phenomenon in the late 80′s and early 90′s, he paved the way for 3D gaming in the mid-90′s, and has gained fame and recognition on the level of, or exceeding, Disney’s own Mickey Mouse.
Via GoNintendo, Gameztraffic looks at Mario: The Last of the Gaming Icons, wherein they hope to explain “just why he is the best gaming icon.”
That’s it from me tonight, still working on those reviews.
–LBD “Nytetrayn”
Okay, this is a little later than I had hoped to have it up earlier, but I wound up having to place a call to my dad, among a few other things. At least now I have a place to ship Metroid Prime Trilogy so I can get all the goods!
I really do need to update more, even if it’s just one or two items. I’ll see what I can begin squeezing in. For now, here are some articles I found interesting that I wished to pass along:
My favorites, of course, are the Ghostbusters: The Video Game stuff. I’d love to know why only the male avatar in the Wii game can “slime launch.”
No, my problem is the blasted Blue Shells. They used to be cool, but have become a cheap item with no real purpose in my opinion. So you’re in eighth place, and you launch the shell to wipe out first place. And that helps you… how, exactly? It’s like an item based on pure, petty spite.
One commenter and a defense I often see of the Blue Shell is that it can be avoided, with a certain bit of tricky driving and… a Mushroom. Something which rarely, if ever, falls into the lap of a driver in first place, who just so happens to be the exclusive target of the Blue Shell. Wonderful.
For instance, there was that bit about the Saved by the Bell reunion Late Night host Jimmy Fallon is attempting to put together. Well, it seems that SBTB has caught on since then, with a few stories following from it.
Perhaps most galling, though, is People magazine snubbing not only Dennis “Mr. Belding” Haskins from a recent reunion photo shoot, but Dustin “Screech” Diamond as well, even going so far as to crop him out of an inset picture from the old days which featured him.
Seriously, I think it’s probably not too far off the mark to say that Saved by the Bell probably defined Diamond’s life for years to come following its finale, and to this very day. Why on Earth would anyone want to take that away from him? It just seems wrong.
No, actually, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t just seem wrong… I’m pretty sure that it is wrong.
While it wasn’t bad, I was a bit disappointed. There was so much Shaquille O’Neal lore that could have been drawn upon for this. I’m not sure what music he came out to, but it definitely should have been one of his rap songs, if it wasn’t. If it was, good job, WWE.
Then there’s fighting. He should have broken out some of that mixed martial arts stuff he knows, break out a little bit of that Shaq-Fu, rather than just shoulder-ramming The Big Show.
Finally, and I can sort of understand why they might have wanted to keep this buried, but I think that during match featuring Triple H, he should have given Hunter a hand by passing him the sledgehammer he used in the movie Steel. Or, a close approximation, at least.
And that would have made for one Shaqtastic Raw.
What isn’t so funny, I’m sorry to say, is the counterpart feed, _Rockman_ (named for the Japanese identity of Mega Man, for the uninformed). It tends to be a bit… melodramatic. You know the saying “I’m not suffering from insanity, I’m enjoying every minute of it?” That applies well to Wily’s Twitter. Clearly, all the suffering is on the shoulders of _Rockman_.
Well, that’s it for now. Check back soon for more updates, and part 2 of my Game Boy feature will be along come Friday night.
–LBD “Nytetrayn”
Nintendo has a long and storied history of releasing numerous peripherals for it’s consoles over the years since it first stepped into the home video game market, and GamesRadar has a look at the most-failingest” of them all. It’s a shame some of these didn’t garner more support, though.
I’ll always have a soft spot for R.O.B., who lives on today on the other side of the screen. And I miss my Super Scope. I would love for Nintendo to bring back its titles, as well as those of the Zapper on the Wii. And the DK Bongos’ games, while few in number, were all pretty cool.
This actually reminds me of something else I plan to write about in this space soon…
Few other series outside of Mario can have a top 30 list list of its various baddies and yet still feel like the surface has only just been scratched. Some of these characters have been pretty scarce, however, and unfortunately so. Thankfully, at least spin-offs such as Paper Mario have helped to keep characters such as Ninji and Shy Guys firmly in the spotlight in the time since their initial appearances.
On the other hand, I think some of the bigger bosses who aren’t named “Birdo” or “Wart” should pop up now and then, too. Granted, Wart has pretty much been out of action since Super Mario Bros. 2, save for a cameo in The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, but everyone always picks him first. And while I too would like to see him make a triumphant return, some of his lieutenants, such as Mouser, Triclyde, and Fry Guy would be equally welcome back… at least, for as long as it takes for me to send them falling off the screen again.
Nothing personal, guys. It’s just business.
As for ones who do appear, I think Goombas and Koopa Troopas are my favorites, as is the big bad himself. Bowser just has such an excellent design for a villain, it’s hard to get tired of seeing him standing atop the world as his evil schemes are carried out.
Oh, and props to Nintendo for finally giving us the Koopalings back.
Professional wrestling is not a competition in the strictest sense, short of when competitors attempt to outdo each other with bigger moves or better matches. It is a performance of sorts, whose setting is based in the world of sports as if the events going on were part of an athletic competition. To this end, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon has even, to a degree some might call infamous, rebranded professional wrestling as “sports entertainment.” Which, in my opinion, is fair enough, though I still call them wrestlers and refer to what they do as wrestling.
However, over the years, it feels that WWE has kind of lost the sense of what it means for their entertainment to be of the “sport” variety. To that end, Lance Storm has put together a list of wrestling rules that he believes that companies should abide by when presenting their product. And for the most part (if not completely), I agree with him.
I enjoy the product, but the titles so often feel meaningless, as do wins or losses. I’ve heard Jim Ross talk about the way to move up in the WWE is to win matches, but really, it never seems like there is any particular reason to. It feels like guys such as Edge or Cody Rhodes can just leave a match of their own volition without any negative consequence, unless it’s a title match. And even then, the titles don’t feel like they have the meaning in the company that they once did.
Sometimes, it feels like the goals are ill-defined. Sure, Face A wants to beat Heel B because the latter wronged the former somehow, but then what? Sure, it’s all for show, but even so, internal consistency can be an important part of the product. Why are any of these guys here? To simply draw a paycheck? Some say that having the World Title means everything to them, that it means they are the best in the world, but I just don’t feel that significance from the belt. Something feels missing.
I believe one thing that would help, and be assisted greatly by the internet, is some sort of rankings of each athlete on each brand. A guy wins a match, he moves up; a guy loses, he moves down. Sort of like in the video games, where you’re working to reach certain championship goals. Give it a real feeling like every match, whether or not there’s a story behind it, has some kind of meaning to it.
It’s kind of funny, too. Before I read Storm’s article, I wound up watching some openings to old WWE shows (from when they were the WWF, at that) via Retrojunk and YouTube, and it was funny how much more “sports-like” those openings and setups made the show feel (albeit in an 80′s/90′s sort of way), versus what we have today.
Long story short: I think WWE needs to put more of the “sport” back into “sports entertainment.”
–LBD “Nytetrayn”