Posted by Tim Sheehy on Jan 12, 2012 in Tech, Videogames
This is kind of cool news for those of you like me who can’t stand heavy handhelds. Nintendo’s Masahiro Sakurai recently revealed that the upcoming 3DS title Kid Icarus Uprising will come packed with a special stand to help keep the system steady while you play. Truth is, I love the concept behind Nintendo’s 3DS, even if I don’t really own too many games for it, but unfortunately, the system is a bit hefty, especially when I want to play for any extended period of time. Although I wasn’t looking forward to Kid Icarus Uprising so much, having played a demo at last year’s San Diego Comic Con International, this little addition might just change my mind. Keeping the system balanced could potentially improve the gameplay, and I’m sure I’ll be making use of the stand for future titles.
This has got to be the most fashionable handheld to date — Konami’s upcoming limited edition Metal Gear Solid 3DS. There’s been no official word on the pricing or availability just yet, but those details will be announced later this month. Hideo Kojima has, however, confirmed via twitter that the unit will feature the embossed snakeskin pattern pictured above, and that it isn’t just a removable skin, or case. It might be worth mentioning that the last Konami 3DS bundle to be sold never made it stateside, so there’s a good chance you’ll have to import one.
Given that it’s Metroid’s 25th anniversary this year (poor Samus gets overshadowed by Zelda), it’s great to see somebody else giving our favorite video game bounty hunter some love. If you’re more in the mood for something sexy, Good Smile is releasing a 1/6 PVC of Zero Suit Samus in June 2012. More interested in functional? Max Factory is bringing a figma of Samus in her trademark outfit sometime in 2012. Both of these figures are fantastic, so no matter which one you get (or both!) you can’t go wrong. Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Dec 20, 2011 in Videogames
The Legend of Zelda isn’t the only Nintendo franchise to celebrate its 25th Anniversary this year. Although its hardly their most popular, Metroid is among the most successful franchises to ever grace Nintendo’s catalog. The series is also having its 25th anniversary and, while I’m uncertain as to why Nintendo failed to shine a spotlight on it, fans have taken to crafting their own musical tributes to the franchise. Today, Bad Dudes Music released a limited edition arrangement album, entitled simply Metroid Arrange 25th Anniversary Album to commemorate the occasion — for the record, I contributed to an arrangement of my own to the project.
Perhaps all the clamoring and petitioning from fans earlier this year was worth it: after Nintendo stated earlier this year that they had no plans to release the fan-favorite and critically-acclaimed Wii RPG Xenoblade Chronicles in the US, gamers rallied to support it. Sadly, Nintendo declined to indulge their enthusiasm and remained silent. Until now, that is. The game now has a general release date of April 2012, but will not be getting a wide release. Instead, the only places you’ll be able to purchase the game will be either Gamestop or Nintendo themselves, via their website. Still, that’s better than no release at all. Read more…
I honestly haven’t had many reasons to pick up my 3DS in recent months. It’s not that it’s a terrible platform by any means, but Nintendo’s 3D handheld is currently suffering a bit of a dry spill. There isn’t much in the way of software, and while they’ve shown us plenty of exciting titles at recent trade shows, almost all of them have yet to be released. There have been a few good offerings so far, but most of those are just updates of classics like Star Fox 64 and Zelda: Ocarina of Time — experiences we’ve already had. So what do we have in the meantime? So far, its been Netflix and a handful of virtual console/DSi ware releases. Fortunately, you’ll finally have another reason to pick it up, and some of you can even dust off your Wii while you’re at it. Hulu Plus will be headed to both platforms by the end of the year, allowing you to stream hours of anime, television, and film such as Persona 4: The Animation and the critically acclaimed Criterion Collection for only $7.99 a month.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Sep 13, 2011 in Videogames
As I’m writing this, Nintendo is currently holding their 3DS Pre-TGS press conference to discuss some of their upcoming titles for their handheld platform. While everything is looking very impressive, its a shame that some of these amazing titles may never be localized. I fully expect to see games like Monster Hunter 4, or Super Mario 3D Land, make their way stateside, but the chances of the next Culdcept titlemaking its way overseas remain slim to none. I won’t give up hope, though and it’s nice to know that the console has a future, especially after the sub-par launch it experienced earlier this year. Aside from Monster Hunter, some of the more impressive looking titles included Mario Kart 7, Fire Emblem and the latest Hatsune Miku game, Project Mirai. I bet Danny Choo can’t wait to run a cross-promotion with that one.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Jul 13, 2011 in Videogames
Back in the early ’90s Nintendo’s dominance of the handheld market went practically unchallenged. Sega’s Game Gear barely put up a fight while Nintendo gave us entries from popular franchises like Super Mario Land and Metroid. With that kind of success, you’d think they’d be willing to take a few chances by localizing all their titles, but in 1992 Nintendo released Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru, or For the Frog the Bell Tolls — a title that never made its way overseas. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. Thankfully, some dedicated fans have decided to take it upon themselves to localize the game for you. It may be nearly two decades old, but this old gem might be worth firing up your favorite emulator to play. Developed by the same team that brought us Metroid II and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, For the Frog the Bell Tolls is an action-adventure title with a twist. You play the role of young prince charged with finding the frogs that inhabit a Kingdom and delivering an important message while attempting to save a princess from peril. The game’s humorously-scripted and has some fantastic music, so it’s sure to be at least somewhat entertaining. You can download the patch for the game here, though you’ll have to obtain your own rom and emulator to play it with. If you’d rather just watch the video above, you’ll get a pretty good idea of how the game plays. Read more…
Pretty much everyone had been waiting on pins and needles for Nintendo to unveil its upcoming successor to the Wii. At yesterday’s press conference, they finally gave us our first good look at Project Cafe, dubbed the Wii U — another name that has left many of us scratching our heads. Unlike Sony, Nintendo remained silent about many of the specs surrounding the new console, choosing to simply post the details on their official site. However, what they did share seemed really impressive. A tablet controller with the ability to transfer content seamlessly from the the tablet to the screen, and a graphics engine that finally rivals that of other current generation consoles.
Nintendo, like Apple, knows exactly how to market their products to their core audience , no matter how much a gimick the product may be. Case and point, check out these commercials that are currently airing overseas. The system will be out in a little over a month, but rather than show how the product actually looks — I imagine it doesn’t look too impressive on a 2D screen — they’ve decided to simply hire the most popular boy band in the nation and have them react on film to what they’re seeing. So, how will that sell the system? Simple. If it’s good enough for them, it has to be good enough for you. Of course, it could very well be, but we won’t know until the system ships to North America later this year.
