Tsk. Boss says that he doesn’t see how it’s game related, so I’m moving my blog post over hereabouts:

So, this is sort of a game-related post, but sort of not… though, there was an okay PS1 game based on it.

But, in case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few weeks, then you might have heard that ReBoot is back.

A countdown to the site opening ended last night, and now there’s information coming out from Rainmaker Entertainment (formerly Mainframe) and Zeros 2 Heroes Comics about the future of the franchise, which will include online comics and some full-length motion pictures.

For those who are unfamiliar or have forgotten about ReBoot… read up! But the gist of it revolves around a computer system where Binomes and Sprites live, where viruses and other menaces have to be fought off in order to protect said system. On top of all that, the User (who’s like a god to them) sometimes inserts “game cubes” (which ironically predate and look somewhat like Nintendo’s similarly-named console).

Unfortunately, after an epic third season, from which the creators were free of the standards and practices imposed on them by ABC, they created two movies which became a fourth season. However, talk is that there was supposed to be a third movie that would wrap everything up… but unfortunately, that never happened, leaving fans on the mother of all cliffhangers, which many thought would never be resolved, especially with the passing of legendary voice actor Tony Jaye, who voiced prime antagonist Megabyte…

But now? ReBoot is back in business!

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Yay, the second part of my Wario retrospective is up! Go read now please!

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Just a short one today, folks.

Yesterday, IGN posted a small feature on the music of Super Mario Galaxy. And one part in particular stuck out to me:

But despite Yokota’s confidence in the concept, Koji Kondo, original Mario series composer and musical advisor for Super Mario Galaxy, struck it down rather hastily. Mario is not cute, Kondo insisted, Mario is cool.

For the most part, that’s largely in a way how I perceived Mario. Not cool in a Sonic way, or a hip, trendy Poochy way, but simply cool in his own right. He gets to do all these things, have a lot of adventures that let him go and do things people could only dream about, like in Super Mario Galaxy itself. Traveling in space, even flying through it… such a simple concept, but at the same time, such an adventure… and it’s cool.

New Super Mario Bros. is one of my favorite games of all time, even one of if not the favorite 2D Mario adventure of mine. And yet, reading the line above made me realize my one small grievance with the game: The music.

Some of it, anyway. Mapscreens, the castles, ghosthouses, deserts, some of the World 8 stuff especially… most of it was great. Excellent. Loved it. But then there was the typical “normal” stage music that was strung throughout, from World 1-1 on, plus the one usually in stages that involved springs and bouncy stuff. The music is just so… cute. It’s good, but it lacks the adventurous tone which past Mario themes have had.

Put it next to something like Bob-omb Battlefield from Super Mario 64, or maybe something from Paper Mario, the simplistic Super Mario Land tunes, or even the very first original Super Mario Bros. theme. It just doesn’t quite fit the same way, does it?

Of course, others have told me that Mario has been on this road for a bit now, perhaps since the Super NES. And yeah, parts of Super Mario World might hold to that; I’m sort of on the fence, myself. But Yoshi’s Island, despite the tunes seeming to adhere to the game’s coloring book aesthetic, seemed to retain that feeling of exploration and adventure. And as noted above, Super Mario 64 seemed very true to the series’ roots of music. Sunshine is a tougher nut to crack, as they really seemed to accent the whole tropical island theme of the game. I’d really have to give it a listen again, but it seems more like its own branch. And of course, Galaxy really helped bring us home, so to speak.

So, those are some basic thoughts on what I’ve seen and prefer in the Mario games where music is concerned. One other thing to add, though, is that I do wish that at least once, they’d return to using the original Super Mario Bros. theme as stage music, rather than title screens and Toad houses and little Easter Egg nods to fans.

But in the end… yeah, I think Mario’s cool. No spitting-in-the-face here.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Guess there’s no harm in talking about this now, as it’s pretty much broken everywhere.

So linked me to this the other day, yesterday in fact. I considered making a newspost about it, but given the legal gray area surrounding this (and I’m sure that’s putting it mildly) and what I’d heard happened to a similar such Chrono Trigger project (of which I heard that no, they weren’t making a game, just using Square’s property to sell their engine and got reported, I dunno), I decided to just keep quiet.

Of course, it seems that others could not, and now the news in on the frontpage of Digg, and even some guy who doesn’t seem to be on staff reported it (badly) on Kombo. I’d link you to it, but that’s how badly it was done– it can’t even be linked to.

So, yeah, I’m sort of left wondering if I should’ve jumped on the big scoop, since it’d likely get spread anyway. On the other hand, if this brings SEGA’s hedgehog-werewolves to these guys’ door, at least I know I had no part in it.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Two things I love lately are Death Note, the anime specifically, and Rayman: Raving Rabbids. Well, sort of: I love the teasers and promos and such, but I’ve yet to play any of the actual games, much to my chagrin. Someday, though.

It’s a little old, but new to me, and surely to someone else, too. Here is a cut-up of the Raving Rabbids promos for the first game called “Bunnies Can’t Sing Death Note.”

For comparison, here is a link to the original second opening of the Death Note anime. Which always cracks me up to start, because while the video in itself is neat, to me, it just doesn’t fit the series and comes off more as some sort of weird fan-made AMV where they take something they like and the hardest music they know and match them, regardless of how well it fits.

Luckily, the visuals work with it, but at the same time, I don’t think it fits the series at all; it’s always struck me as a sort of low-key but dramatic, cerebral series. It’s like using something by System of a Down or something to promote a Chess match. Might work for something like Football or WWE, but not so much here.

But again, I don’t dislike it, but find it amusing at how much it simply does not fit the tone of the series, which strikes me as almost like a sort of art, like something you could take someone who knows not the first thing about anime or Japan or such things, sit them down, and have a reasonable chance they’ll be engaged like it was something out of Hollywood. It doesn’t seem to fit, and yet, in its own way, it works.

And if it provides moments like the one above, then I think we’re all a little better off for it.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Black Guy Asks Nation for Change

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Awesome, it’s the Excess Express!

A million bonus points to anyone who gets that one.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Hate thieves. Just really, really hate thieves.

That includes pickpockets. Good article for letting you know how they work, and how to deter them.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Challenge: See how far you can get before it starts to hurt.

About page 11 for me, 12 is when it really started to make me wince.

On a related note, who says video game NPC’s don’t have realistic AI? If this is any indication, they’re VERY realistic.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

See? I haven’t forgotten! But don’t get TOO excited, this one’s a brief one.

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Article: It’s a marvelous age we live in, isn’t it? What with all the technological wonders… granted, a lot of it can still be faulty, but that’s likely to improve over time.

   At any rate, what’s really amazing is how much of this was predicted by Star Trek… or perhaps influenced by? No one will ever confuse me for a Trekkie, but I do respect the show for what it’s done and the impact it’s had. And you can see some of that impact here in the Top 10 Star Trek Tech, ten modern day technological wonders that were predated a long, long time ago in a galaxy… wait…

2. Websites: Here are two websites that have been taking a lot of my time lately: Waiter Rant, a blog belonging to an entity known only as “The Waiter” who recounts tales of life and living, as well as strange experiences in serving the overpriveleged, and the occassional Q&A about proper etiquette when dealing with people who live on tips.

   The other one is (The Customer Is) Not Always Right, a more user-interactive site where slaves to the grind share their tales of customers without clues, and other strange experiences that make you wonder when the robots will arrive to do these jobs, while simultaneously answering the question inadvertantly: When robots can handle the vast quantities of illogic without blowing all its circuitboards.

Video Power

1. Article: “Video Games Live is video game music performed by a live orchestra, celebrating music in games both new and old.

   Kombo Senior News Editor David Oxford (that’s me, btw) is a gamer with his head stuck so far up oldschool Nintendo’s ass that he can’t tell the difference between bushes and clouds.

   See what happens when we put these two unlikely entities together in Toronto for one night only.”

–LBD “Nytetrayn”