The Birthplaces of Ten Great American Foods.

Never heard of a Fat Darrell before, but now I don’t think I can rest until I’ve tried one.

Incidently, the hamburger didn’t originate here, just the form of a hamburger as a sandwich did, it seems.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Recently, I expressed my disappointment that Rare would exclude so much of its fanbase and target audience in the upcoming Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts by making the text nigh-unreadable on a standard-definition television. Worse still was when they were aware of the problem, and apparently had little intention of doing anything about it.

This did not set well with many a gamer. Though some looked down from on high and said “just get an HD set,” this was not such an easy solution for many gamers, myself included. How many children (no doubt one major demographic for Banjo), for example, are likely to just be given an HDTV by their parents? Oh, certainly some are quite likely… and good for them, but looking at how the other half lives, it’s not so likely.

Thankfully, it seems to have become a non-issue, as Rare has seemingly seen the error of their ways, and will now be offering a patch within 30 days to fix the problem:

“It has come to our attention that people are experiencing subtitle readability issues with Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts on Standard Definition TVs. We would like to assure you that contrary to earlier reports, we are aware of the issue and currently working on a title update to be released within the next 30 days that will fix it for those with Standard Definition TVs. We’re committed to ensuring all fans of the franchise are able to have the best experience possible with Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts.” — Banjo Blog

And so there was much rejoicing. Though I still wonder if they may fix the demo as well.

I sure hope so, because otherwise, I really have little idea just what in the hell I’m supposed to be doing.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Last night, CNN apparently debuted an awesome move forward in technology. I mean, it’s nothing exactly innovative, insofar as geeks like me have been seeing it in movies, games, etc. for years now. But to see it being applied in real life? That’s cool. Check it out for yourself:

Thanks to Topless Robot for the find. Now we just need the Mega Man fans to get Santa Claus into a lab coat and on that thing…

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

So far, I’ve been mostly on the fence about Sonic Unleashed. I see good, I see bad, I hear good, I hear bad. On top of that, two different versions with two teams working on them– how is one to choose whether to get it or not, or which one to buy?

Thank goodness for videos. Though SEGA of Europe seems to be running all over YouTube, trying to make sure I don’t see anything I might like, some are getting through, including on GameTrailers. So, while they last, here are a few videos of note. For starters, the opening cutscene (with the option of selecting Japanese voices over English, as you’ll see).

Of course, there are spoilers. This is largely for people like me who may not see the game for some tim yet, but be warned.

Read the rest of this entry »

Just gathering up a few things of interest here and there.

1. It’s pretty much too late to use this, but I only saw it popping up here and there today. At least you can see what a cool Mega Man Jack-o-Lantern looks like, and maybe save the instructions for next year.
2. I got to see WWE Cyber Sunday earlier this week, and the Divas had a Halloween costume contest where viewers could vote. And the winner for the second year in a row was Mickie James, dressed as Lara Croft. Kotaku seems to favor her in the role over Angelina Jolie.
3. Reason #703 that being in Canada can suck: Missing out on Pokemon giveaways at Toys R Us, in spite of having Toys R Us here. Seriously, now. And I’d love to have a Dragonite. That “D” in my name? Stands for “Draco,” because I dig dragons.
4. Sackboy wants your vote on “Proposition Pluto.”
5. We’ve already got something similar here on the site, but if you want to hear it again, Kombo’s Lucas DeWoody takes a look at What’s Wrong With Sonic. It’s a pretty good read.
6. The first few DSi Ware titles look fun and interesting, but not quite “I must get this console” interesting. At least, not yet. I still think it’s just a matter of time before the “it” thing appears, though when it does, I’m not sure it’ll be for everybody. I rather expect there to be a fair and firm divide.
7. Speaking of releases, here is what Nintendo currently has set for the rest of this year and into 2009. Some of it’s pretty vague, though, but at least it looks like we’re getting some of the GameCube-to-Wii ports. Bring on Metroid Prime, I say!
8. Oh, and speaking of DSi, Nintendo wants it here by Summer.
9. The lovely Nadia Oxford expresses some changes she’d like to see in the dynamic of 3D Mario titles.
10. Elsewhere at 61 Frames per Second, Derrick Sanskrit does the impossible by justifying SEGA, as they seem to be the only third-party that really gets what the Wii is all about.
11. People who live on McDonald’s Dollar Menu Double Cheeseburgers have been a bit fidgety lately, as McD’s has sought to take the coveted consumable off the Dollar menu, and move it to $1.39. Hah, that’s what we’ve been paying here all along!

    Anyway, to show they’re good sports about it, it seems they’re willing to consider a compromise.

12. Masterpiece Grimlock is going to rock so hard.
13. Japan’s Virtual Console is going to receive Rockman 3 soon. So odds are, a US Mega Man 3 release won’t be too far behind.
14. Over at Press the Buttons, Matt thinks that Castlevania’s formula has gotten a little stale. But is the buddy-cop route the path the series needs in order to find salvation?

    On a related note, I pity poor Igarashi, who tried to steer the series away from Dracula being the bad guy by changing the Japanese name to match the West as Castlevania, but the fans there wouldn’t have it. So now it’s back to “Akumaj? Dracula,” or “Demon Castle Dracula.” While I can sympathize with the Japanese on the issue of a long-beloved series having its name changed (though I thought it was less popular there?), it now begs the question: Can you really make a Akumaj? Dracula game without Dracula? It seems to kind of tie a noose around the overall story potential.

15. Wonder what goes into making a Sonic theme song? Follow Crush 40 as they show you how “Knight of the Wind” from Sonic and the Black Knight came to be.

    And once you’re done there, you can see the trailer for the game matched against the theme from King Arthur and the Knights of Justice instead. It has no right to work as well as it does.

16. Speaking of Sonic (for the third time tonight), two new trailers for Sonic Unleashed have surfaced, one for the 360 version, and the other for the Wii.
17. And finally, the American fate of Disaster: Day of Crisis is a bit uncertain right now, as Reggie doesn’t think it’s a $50 game. He notes the voice acting as “laughable,” but is going to see how it performs in Europe before bringing it here.

    This has managed to upset some people.

And with that, hope you had a Happy Halloween!

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Cross-posted from The Mega Man Network:

Many fans have been excited to see manga writer/artist Hitoshi Ariga (of Big O manga and Rockman Megamix fame) return to the Rockman franchise once again with his cover and interior manga preview for the Rockman 9 Arrange Album. And after the recent Inti Creates event to celebrate the launch of the album, Ariga was kind enough to let fans know that the Rockman 9 Megamix adaptation, aka Megamix 4, is progressing smoothly. In addition, the previous Megamix volumes are planned to be re-released, though there isn’t word about Rockman Remix.

What’s more is that Ariga revealed that there are plans for a new publication known as “Rockman Maniax.” The nature of this title is being kept hush-hush right now, but Ariga assures fans that more will be revealed on his official blog come December 17th, 2008– Rockman’s 21st birthday.

Now, we just have to hope that Udon is able to work out some sort of arrangement in order to bring all of these great manga to us in a language we can read!

News credit: Protodude’s Rockman Corner

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Thanks to the good folks over at Capcom, we’ve got ourselves a little contest running at The Mega Man Network. Two, as a matter of fact. And both are for hardcore fans.

The first is a simple matter of playing Mega Man 9 for the Xbox 360. Be the first to get all 12 Achievements, and you win a Mega Man 9 t-shirt and poster set. Not too shabby, given that the main reason some would opt for the 360 version is for those very Achievements.

The second contest is a bit trickier. 15 original “Classic” series Mega Man questions, designed to stump. A drawing is held among those who get all 15 right, or in the event no one does, among those with the the greatest equal scores. Two will be chosen at random, or however the number of correct answers dictates, to each get a Mega Man 9 poster.

You can find the full contest rules and trivia questions here.

Truth be told, there were some better prizes lined up, but getting a group consensus on what to run took a bit too long; in fact, we only got these running yesterday, and they were supposed to begin at the start of October. Won’t go into any more detail than that, but suffice to say, the lesson is learned.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

All the funny Michael Bay ads in the world wouldn’t make up for this.

“We’ll help you find your daughter over her dead body. What’s that? Oh, here you go, then.”

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

In my continued hunt for the Super Mario Bros. 3 t-shirt, I decided to check eBay again, to no avail. But holy hell, look at what I did find:

I’m pretty sure I remember this from when I was growing up; that art came from an issue, the first issue in fact, of Nintendo Power. Not sure if I had that one or not, but I don’t think I did.

Looks like it may be the real deal, too, a 1988 copyright date on it and all.

It was $7.88 when I found it last night, but found that it went to a “holy crap” 33 dollars by the time it ended today. Too bad, it was in Toronto, too. But for $12 shipping? Hell, I’d hope I’d have been able to get less than that for what amounts to a busride away (if even that, for all I know).

Still, neat to see a genuine retro shirt like that.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”