warioware meets wii sports in rusty’s real deal baseball

for my last game of the year, i decided to wrap up my experience with rusty’s real deal baseball for 3DS, one of the few games released this past year that i actually played through, and one of nintendo’s first forays into free-to-play gaming. the game has a unique hook: although the 10 individual minigames supposedly have a base price of $4, the game features in-game haggling whereby you can reduce the price of the set from $40 down to a much more reasonable $16. the frame story involves a middle-aged dog trying to revitalize his business as well as repair his family life, and although it serves as a cute device the “story” such as it was didn’t really increase my compulsion to buy more minigames.

the minigames themselves have a very warioware type of aesthetic (apparently totilo at kotaku thought so too), which i enjoyed, and each one (approximately $2 each) distills some aspect of baseball (hitting, catching, even umpiring) and presents a set of 50 basic and 50 advanced mini-challenges plus two endless modes. i played through the majority of three of the minigames (bat & switch, quick catch, and feel the glove), and there’s a good amount of variety within each set, there’s a uniformly high level of polish, and the controls in general feel pretty good (although some take getting used to). because of the arcade nature of the challenges, there’s a distinct feeling of pointlessness of achieving them since given enough time you’ll get it eventually (a classic case of “i could be learning to be a pro basketball player in the time it would take to complete this challenge”). with games like wii sports of wii fit i’m more willing to waste time on pointless challenges since i’m also at least burning a few calories, but in this case without a compelling story or goal my need to be a completionist just wasn’t enough for me to want to finish all the advanced challenges (some of which will have your blood boiling and rage quitting in anger, and apparently i’m not the only one who felt that way). i found the challenges were also not really suited for short “pick up and play” type bursts, due to the amount of concentration required.

i didn’t feel the need to pay for the rest of the minigames (especially since some of the ones i was more interested in were the ones that didn’t unlock more of the story), so i’ve set this one aside for now. if i were more interested in baseball i could imagine this would’ve been an easier sell to me, and although i didn’t end up seeing the game through to the “end” i enjoyed the time i did spend with it overall. nintendo would’ve gotten more dollars out of me if they had just released this as a single package, but i love that they tried a different and completely unique approach to micro-transacations, and i can definitely see myself picking up a couple more at some point in the future.

haggle your way to victory with these rusty’s real deal baseball links:
– this post at gamefaqs has the exact combination of discounts to use to get the lowest possible prices for the four non-story minigames, although i haven’t verified it
– miiverse page
– official site with videos of each minigame
– complimentary fan review at kotaku
– review at nintendolife.com
– list of unlockables at gamefaqs including info on streetpass bonuses
– a look at some localization changes at tinycartridge.com
– entry at wikipedia

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li’l bro shines in new super luigi u

even though i’ve been playing mostly first-party nintendo games lately, i’ve been on a roll getting caught up with series that i had previously completed but had new entries, so i thought i’d finish off new super luigi u, released as DLC for the wii u game new super mario bros. u as well as a standalone retail release.

i’d been somewhat disappointed in NSMBU overall when i finished playing through it early this year, and although it’s a completely solid game i, along with many others, found it to be far too close to the other games in the “new” super mario bros. series, particularly NSMB2 and NSMB wii. since NSLU was DLC, i was able to enjoy it as an expansion to NSMBU, so the fact that all the assets, the world map, and the boss fights, were identical to the main game didn’t really bother me. the level design is pretty solid (although some elements, such as yoshi, are as underused as in the main game), and the game changes things up a bit in significant ways. the obvious one, of course, is the fact that luigi is the main character and features the return of his trademark higher flutter jump (and slippier footing on the ground). the game also limits the levels to 100 seconds, which as a result makes them slightly more compact. the game is more challenging than the original, which is a plus for me, and to offset that the designers made nabbit a playable character who is invincible to enemies (but not pits, lava, etc.).

despite all the similarities, the game still manages to slip in some surprises. collecting all the star coins and finding all the secret exits is in general still very much worthwhile (although finding the exits in particular can be painfully arbitrary and somewhat a waste of time), but one nice surprise was the luigis hidden in every level. i hadn’t realized there was one in every level, but it’s a nice touch to the game, as it was released to celebrate the year of luigi. it would’ve been nice if there were some system to track that you’d found them all, but many of them are located near secrets anyway. there are also some other cute surprises, like special snowmen in the ice world. the miiverse integration is the same as NSMBU so it’s still a nice way to include a social element, although it’s kind of disappointing you can’t up vote esp. good comments or mark some as inappropriate.

overall this is an enjoyable game as DLC and as an expansion of NSMBU, even though it doesn’t really push the series forward at all. still, it’s nice to see luigi get a significant share of the spotlight.

check out these shiny li’l bro new super luigi u links:
– entry at mariowiki.com
– review at nintendolife.com
– info on a handful of easter eggs, etc. at gamefaqs
– video from nintendo’s staff showing off their super skillz

little bro smashin’ with super smash bros. for nintendo 3DS

since the wii u version released today, i thought i would collect my thoughts on super smash bros. for nintendo 3DS. the 3DS version has been out for just shy of two months, and by now the new characters (which include two awesome, completely off-the-wall additions) have found their unique places amongst what has become an impressive roster of veteran fighters. sakurai, the director, has done a great job of sustaining the hype from the day the game was first announced to today, and as always the wild speculation over which characters would be included was pretty much a national pastime amongst nintendo fans until the final roster was revealed. although the story mode was cut in this iteration, the character reveal trailers were a great substitute and a great way to accompany the announcements of the new characters.

the first aspect of the game to consider is of course the characters. in general i would say the new characters don’t add as much uniqueness to the series overall as compared to the previous game’s batch, but there’s a lot of variety and they’re each satisfying to use (with perhaps the exception of the mii fighters who, because of their completely customizable nature, end up feeling oddly generic). although i miss the ice climbers and snake, their closest replacements (rosalina + luma and a hidden character) provide some of the same flavor and so are somewhat of a consolation. i like that previously combined characters such as samus and zero-suit samus have been made completely separate, and although it takes a lot of time to unlock all the options it’s also entertaining to play around with each character’s moveset variants. the game was intended to be more serious as a competitive game than its predecessor, and although i’m not an expert it seems like most people have been pretty happy with how it turned out in that regard. from the characters’ movesets overall it seems like the game requires a more deliberate play style than before (for example, a lot of the characters have countering moves or moves that put up a shield), but the game is still fast paced and fun at whatever level of skill you’re playing at.

in terms of modes, the game doesn’t really offer too many surprises with the exception of the new “smash run” mode. that mode feels very casual, and although it’s fun to battle against the mix of enemies from different series, the ending battle that decides the final outcome feels too random. having a portable smash bros. game is such a technical achievement that it feels churlish to complain, but its limitations are obvious. although many of the stages have fun gimmicks, the game only has a small number of them, even compared to brawl and esp. compared to the wii u version, and each stage only has two pieces of music. i’ve been playing it on a 3DS XL and the game fits decently well within the confines of that system’s screen size, but i imagine the game would feel much more cramped on a regular 3DS.

there’s not a lot more to say. the game doesn’t offer much in the way of new modes, but the series has always been about the core battling, and the new characters, tweaks to the old characters, and customizable moves provide a lot of great gameplay that will sustain us for the years we’ll have to wait until the next entry. the game is a solid entry in the series, and although overall the game feels limited on the 3DS compared to its big brother on wii u, being able to battle on the go definitely makes up for its limitations and it’s great to have both options.

[as a side note, for those interested as is my wont i spent most of my time playing with robin. as a long-time fan of the fire emblem series i was psyched to be able to finally play as a mostly magic-user, and although having his/her tomes and weapons break feels a bit pointless, overall his/her moveset is pretty enjoyable, if not super unique. looking forward to playing more with that character on wii u, as well as others i haven’t spent too much time with.]

smash with these little bro super smash bros. for nintendo 3DS links:
– official site, which includes all the character reveal videos
– review at nintendolife.com
– entry at ssbwiki.com
– entry at supersmashbros.wikia.com
– table of the series’ playable characters. squirtle and ivysaur = gone but not forgotten!

weighty mario kart 8

i caught up with the mario kart series by playing through mario kart 8 on wii u, although it was definitely more out of the need to be a completionist than any real interest in the game, sad to say. the previous entry in the series, mario kart 7 on 3DS, left me feeling pretty bored and jaded, and my overall experience with mario kart 8 didn’t really leave me feeling much different.

for me the pluses are all fairly minor. i appreciated that like its predecessor this game tones down the relentless onslaught of attacks by CPUs that was present in the wii edition. it’s nice to see the koopalings gain even more prominence by being included, although disappointing that it was at the expense of such long-time favorites as birdo. the game looks great in HD, although graphics have never been the main selling point for any game for me, and the use of jazzy live music is a nice addition. the inclusion of stamps for use in miiverse is a nice motivator to do some more single-player cup racing. the video highlights features are nice to have, although i haven’t been motivated to save any of mine, or view anyone else’s really. (similarly, the nerfed battle mode may have been a deal breaker to many, but i’ve never really been that interested in those modes anyway.) the new anti-gravity sections (which changes collisions such that you get a speed boost from them), “super horn” item (which allows you to destroy the dreaded blue shell), and upcoming unlockable costumes via amiibo are also nice to have, although none of these features are game changers.

basically everything else about the game is the same old story. coin collecting, custom parts, new and retro tracks (very few of which felt that memorable to me), air and water sections, motion controls, it’s all stuff we’ve seen before. the formula has really grown stale for me, and even though the previous entry was released two and a half years ago there wasn’t anything about this edition that excited me. the one thing i wasn’t expecting to enjoy so much was the physics, which make the karts feel like they have real weight, but that’s not enough to make me give the game more than a passing grade. even amongst nintendo series, the mario kart series has never been one that was very focused on innovation. the expansion of the universe to include other nintendo properties via DLC had potential, although i haven’t found the first batch of DLC to be that worthwhile personally. i’ll have to see if the second batch of DLC fares any better, or if i’m going to have to wait for the inevitable next installment to give me something to get excited about.

enjoy these weighty mario kart 8 links:
– entry at mariowiki.com
– review at nintendolife.com
– one of the original “luigi death stare” videos (and here’s the entry about it at knowyourmeme.com)
– official site
– mariokart.tv site

big-screen mini-games with warioware D.I.Y. showcase and game & wario

even though i’d recently “finished” warioware D.I.Y., i was so close to finishing up the 9 games of the warioware series that i went ahead and played through warioware D.I.Y. showcase on wiiware and game & wario on wii u.

first off, warioware D.I.Y. showcase does exactly what it sets out to do, which is provide a way for you to take your warioware D.I.Y. creations from your DS and view them on your TV via your wii. the touchscreen controls are replaced by moving the wiimote’s cursor and pressing its main button, and although these controls make things more difficult because it takes more time to move the cursor on wii than the stylus on the DS, overall the change in input works fine. games look pretty good in the transition from DS to TV, and the wiiware title also includes about half as many micro-games as the DS game (featuring the characters who were left out of the DS game, including more retro games thanks to 18-volt), all of which can be imported back to the DS game for use in making your own micro-games, and a small set of comics and songs. while nintendo had wi-fi support for this title you could also download new micro-games, but otherwise there’s not a whole lot to do and the $8 price tag does feel a bit on the high side. still, for fans of the DS title this would be a nice complement, and the warioware formula is surprisingly strong, as there are quite a few micro-games included that are as funny and memorable as any that have come before.

D.I.Y. showcase may have been pretty basic, but game & wario feels like a real step back. almost completely eschewing the series’ formula to date (i.e. an onslaught of micro-games to conquer), this game focuses on mini-games, pretty much none of which are that much fun. each mini-game has multiple levels, but only beating the first level is required to unlock the next mini-game. this keeps things moving along, but the mini-games themselves aren’t interesting enough to even warrant the extra levels. it’s pretty sad that i found i didn’t even want to play through all the levels, few as there were, and that unlocking each mini-game just resulted in another stab of disappointment instead of excitement. in their review nintendolife commented that one of the games felt “like it’s all been done before on mobile devices”, but i felt that way about pretty much all of them. many of the games felt like the developers were really straining to justify the wii u’s gamepad, and in that sense felt like nintendo land, which i found to be similarly tedious and also more like a series of tech demos than a gaming experience. my affection for the warioware cast was the main thing that kept me even remotely engaged, and the only other memorable experiences were the virtual toys whose wacky humor fans of the series should be familiar with; “gamer”, the mini-game that actually revisits the typical warioware formula (including some hilarious variations of familiar micro-games from the past) but with the added trickiness of having to hide the gamepad when your character’s mom is nearby; and the miiverse sketching game, which is basically a pictionary-type drawing game where you can select from other people’s prompts and then view others’ responses alongside your own.

it’s too bad that the most-recent two entries of the warioware series are so middling compared to the brilliance of the first titles, but i have hope that nintendo and intelligent systems will be able to turn things around from here. in the meantime i’ll be taking a look back at the series before too long, and will be looking forward to revisiting some of my favorites in the series.

big-screen warioware D.I.Y. showcase link:
– entry at mariowiki.com

big-screen game & wario links:
– miiverse community
– official site, includes wallpapers
– parody kickstarter promo for the game, includes a ringtone
– tips from nintendo UK

going solo in the legend of zelda: four swords anniversary edition

although i’ve worked my way through quite a few series by now, including the zelda series, i haven’t finished any remakes of any of the games, or any replays. i recently dusted off the legend of zelda: four swords anniversary edition on DSiware not long ago, and finished up the last two stages that i was planning on tackling this playthrough, which were the last two (of three) bonus stages in the “realm of memories” (more on that later).

a little history lesson for people who may not already know. the four swords game was originally combined with the GBA remake of a link to the past, and at that time required two people to play (my post on that game is here). the game was succeeded by the gamecube game the legend of zelda: four swords adventures, which again focused on multiplayer, but didn’t require it since the game enabled you to switch between characters and change the configuration of your team (e.g. a horizontal or vertical line) as needed.

this remake is of the GBA game, although it’s a standalone release and, similar to the gamecube title, has the new feature that you can play it entirely solo (along with being able to switch between two characters, the AI jumps in and controls the other character when needed). the solo mode works perfectly well, and from that perspective the game is already a big improvement over the original version. however, other pluses are that it was a free download, and it enables simple-to-connect local co-op with DSis and 3DSes (as opposed to the GBA’s multi-link cable). the DSi and 3DS’s second screen is used to show the locations of the other players and the goal but isn’t an actual map; it functions more like a radar, just giving you a general sense of where things are relative to you.

but the big draw is that this release includes 18 additional stages, more than doubling the amount of content in the original. these take the form of the “hero’s trial” (more-difficult stages unlocked by winning 5 multiplayer matches or collecting 30,000 rupees), and the “realm of memories”. the “realm of memories” is particularly notable because these stages revisit familiar locations from past games (namely link to the past, link’s awakening, and the original NES title). although the link’s awakening stages are spot on (and even presented in black and white) and include the same sprites as the original game, i was slightly disappointed to find that the stages based on the original NES title used the same sprites as the link’s awakening stages, although that’s just me being nit-picky. aside from the layout and presentation, those stages don’t have much to do with the original games since they feature the same enemies and mechanics as the rest of the game, but it’s a nice bit of nostalgia and a great inclusion in this title which was released for the series’ 25th anniversary.

all in all this game is a definite improvement over the original and enjoyable overall, esp. with other players. although it includes more stages, the game does start feeling repetitive pretty quickly (although not nearly to the extent as four swords adventures which was a total slogfest), and it’s still somewhat annoying that you have to beat all the regular stages three times in order to get the final ending (which i just don’t have the patience for). the zelda series has always been about the exploration and the puzzles, and so since this game is more focused on combat and multiplayer there’s not much chance it will rank that high in my list of favorites in the series. still, it’s nice to have a change of pace compared to the rest of the series, and it was fun to see familiar locales from previous games in a new setting.

don’t go solo without these the legend of zelda: four swords anniversary edition links:
– official site, although somewhat barebones
– entry at zeldawiki.org
– review at nintendolife.com
– list of unlockables at gamefaqs

mario and wario paint and compose in mario paint and warioware D.I.Y.

it’s been a long time since i’ve “completed” a warioware title, and the reason is that warioware D.I.Y. for DS was next in line and i’m not really into games that focus on creativity since i’m not very artistic, and when i’m playing a game i’d rather just be playing a game than creating. anyway, before i get into warioware D.I.Y., it’s pretty much impossible not to talk about that game without mentioning its well-known predecessor mario paint on SNES. i’d never played mario paint, so i gave it a quick spin. one thing mario paint was famous for was introducing the SNES mouse and basically has three modes: a cute and cartoony version of photoshop in which you can create still images and animations; a cute and cartoony composer mode in which you can create music with a maximum of three notes at a time; and a bonus mini-game called “gnat attack” (aka “coffee break” or “fly swatter”) in which you navigate the mouse around to swat at flies and other enemies. i enjoyed my time with mario paint and it’s cute and colorful, but a big drawback to the game (and a deal-breaker by modern standards) is that you can only save one image and otherwise there’s now way to save your results other than record it to a video recorder via your TV, or utilize modern means, such as an emulator’s save states.

as for warioware D.I.Y., i dove into playing through the mini-games first, and these are the typical warioware fare. the game focuses on touchscreen controls and in that sense is very much like warioware: touched, although the games feel somewhat average in general, although that could just be that the formula has worn thin. before long i was exploring what the rest of the game has to offer, which includes 4-panel comics to read that unlock daily, many of which are quite entertaining (albeit fairly surreal), and a listening center. on the creative side the game includes a comic strip maker and a music maker (with a max of 4 simultaneous notes + 1 rhythm track instead of mario paint‘s 3).

the game offers multiple ways to ease you into the main event, microgame creation: one way is the “jobs” section, where you can take on tasks to replace artwork from microgames (taken from the original warioware title, i believe). the photoshop-like art creator, which is pretty much the same in all the modes, is similar to mario paint‘s, and is equally cute and colorful and similarly surprisingly deep. the game also provides three in-depth tutorials to take you through increasingly complex ways of creating objects and programming simple interactions in order to create your game. after working through some of the microgame creation it becomes clearer why the pre-made microgames feel more basic than usual, because you can actually import any of them and modify them as you like to create your own version. this is a great way to get into the creation without having to start from scratch, and also a great way to learn how the game programming works since you can see how other microgames were set up. the game also includes stamps that you can use in lieu of having to create your own artwork, which is also helpful for people without much in the way of artistic skills.

when the game was originally released, the wi-fi connection features were a big part of the interactivity, with new microgames made available on a regular basis (some by famous real-world game developers themselves) and contests were held to make a microgame that matched a given theme. it’s too bad those features were available for such a short time, since the game came out at the tail end of the DS’s cycle (just a year before the 3DS was released). the game also features interactivity with the wiiware title warioware D.I.Y. showcase, where you can transfer your creations (or any of the other microgames) from your DS to the wii to play with the wiimote (another reason why the microgames were more simplistic, since they had to be compatible with the wiimote’s point-and-click capabilities). i haven’t sat down and played through that yet, but prob. will in the near future.

all in all mario paint, although regarded as a classic, seems fairly superseded by warioware D.I.Y.. the latter provides many more capabilities as well as plenty of options to save your games, although still no ability to export to anything outside of your DS or wii. although i enjoyed my time with the game, i’m not really the intended target since i’m not really into being creative within my gaming time, but otherwise this is an easy recommendation to people who are looking for that kind of experience.

paint and compose with these mario paint and warioware D.I.Y. links:
– article on mario paint on wikipedia
– SNES a day’s entry on mario paint, including footage of all the different actions you can take on the title screen, the different “erase all” tools, and the three songs built into the composer mode

– a theme from sonic recreated in warioware D.I.Y.
– review at nintendolife.com
– list on unlockables at gamefaqs, and a list of medal requirements
– how to get mario paint theme music to play in D.I.Y.
– list of all the games that were downloadable with descriptions, at mariowiki.com
– the game was ranked #13 in IGN’s top DS games, published in 2010

underappreciated donkey kong jr. math

the release of the new smash bros. on 3DS has pretty much completely ruined my chances of finishing any other games for the near future, but i took a break from it to sit down with my remaining donkey kong game on NES, donkey kong jr. math. i wasn’t quite sure what to expect, and i was somewhat disappointed to find that the main two modes are 2-player only. also, because i know donkey kong jr. so well the changes in the mechanics were a bit odd at first, namely, that DK jr. no longer has his two-armed faster ascent and instead moves the same speed when travelling up or down a vine.

after i got over my initial reaction i found the game to actually be fairly enjoyable overall, and as is often the case that it feels like this is yet another one of those games that people dismiss without actually giving it a fair chance. the game re-uses most of the mechanics from donkey kong jr. so the jumping is a bit stiff, but otherwise the controls work pretty well. the goal of the main two modes are simple: select numbers and operators in order to reach a specified total number. selecting numbers and operators with DK jr. is more fun than just tapping numbers into a calculator, and although the first mode is pretty straightforward the second mode is actually more satisfyingly challenging. in the first mode you’re often putting together simple equations, like making 37 by selecting 9 * 4 + 1, but in the second mode the number you’re trying to reach is harder to get to since you’re restricted to a pool of 18 numbers, each of which can only be 1 through 9, and the target numbers often have large values and can be negative. so to reach a number like 285 from a starting number of 200 requires some thought, e.g. divide by 5, then multiply by 7, and then add 5. although i didn’t get to play with another person, it’s easy to imagine that going head to head could actually be pretty fun, what with getting in each other’s way, stealing numbers that the other person wants, and having to quickly change your strategy based on what numbers are closer to you.

the third mode is just a series of exercises of different types (e.g. large number addition, simple multiplication, long division, etc.), with a sort of complicated scheme. in each set you’re given 10 problems and the bird on the left drops an egg if you solve it perfectly the first time. the bird on the right shows you which “place” you’re entering numbers for (e.g. for addition that bird will fly over the ones place, then the tens place, hundreds place, etc.), and you can give up at any time by pushing the key into the lock. selecting numbers requires you to climb up and down a chain representing one of the digit places, and to input a number you just move to a different chain. the controls here are a bit more awkward than the other two modes, but since apparently you’re also scored on how quickly you complete each problem, precision and speed is also rewarded. the mode is a bit dry, but still somewhat entertaining (and did work certain brain muscles i haven’t used in a very long time).

as i said, although it’s easy to dismiss games like these, as nintendolife did in their review of the wii virtual console release, those who take the time to actually give it a chance will find a reasonably entertaining game (as nintendolife’s review of the wii u VC version attests). the main downside to the main mode is that it really requires both players to be at the same math level: it’s not really designed for, say, a parent and a child to play together, unless perhaps if the parent is already handicapped by just being unfamiliar with how to play video games. the game may have originally been created as an “edutainment” title with the goal of trying to remove some of the stigma of video games and it apparently was not received well at the time, and although it’s gotten a bad rap over the years i found it to be much more worthwhile than most reviews would claim.

find the solution with these underappreciated donkey kong jr. math links:
– i’d forgotten this, but the game was actually spotlighted in a fairly recent nintendo minute video. the video makes it look like 2P would actually be pretty fun.
– reference to the game in donkey kong country returns for wii
– entry at wikipedia
– apparently the game is one of the more expensive games for NES

filling in with sudoku gridmaster

i have a couple of longer games i’m in the middle of, so i thought i’d write a quick post on sudoku gridmaster for DS. this one of those cases where i bought a game purely because it was published by nintendo (yes, i’m a nintendo fanboy) and it was cheap, but was a pretty unnecessary purchase since i’ve hardly made a dent in all the sudoku puzzles available in the first two brain age games.

just going by numbers, the first two brain age games include about 100 puzzles each, and this one includes about 400, grouped into varying levels of difficulty. in sudoku gridmaster you earn stars by completing puzzles, with the number of stars varying with how difficult the puzzle is and how quickly you finish it. accumulating a certain number of stars just unlocks more puzzles, and at a certain point you’ll also unlock a “ranking” mode where you’re presented with a puzzle selected randomly among the main mode’s puzzles and given a score, which seems pretty pointless to me.

the game’s interface feels slightly more streamlined to me than the brain age games. there’s no zooming in/out to fiddle with, and you can easily select the number you want to input from on-screen buttons instead of writing them by hand (although there is a handwriting recognition option which seems to work fine). adding notes in the four corners of a box is also easy to do via on-screen buttons. the presentation overall is pretty clean and generic but non-offensive, and you can select three different types of background music.

all in all this was a perfectly acceptable, although perfectly forgettable, experience. when sudoku was first popular my sister got into it and finished all the puzzles in the first brain age, so after some research i ended up getting her platinum sudoku by ubisoft which supposedly features 20 million puzzles (???). platinum sudoku also apparently includes a few other types of puzzles, including kakuro, which i don’t know anything about, but other than the large number of puzzles i don’t have any point of comparison between that and the various other sudoku DS games available.

get filled in with these sudoku gridmaster links:
– entry at wikipedia
– FAQ on gamefaqs with all the solutions (which you won’t really need), but also info on the scoring
– page on official nintendo site
– entry at metacritic

a visit to wario’s woods

i’ve been making my way through nintendo’s various puzzle games, and wario’s woods is a game that i’ve had for a while on wii’s virtual console but have finally set aside. apparently the game was the last officially licensed NES title (and released on SNES less than a year later), and the presentation is pretty polished. the game is one of the only games that features mario series mainstay toad in a starring role, and for that reason alone gets a thumbs up from me. the game continues toad’s characterization from super mario bros. 2 (specifically, his super strength), and also features the return of a couple of other characters from that game, namely birdo and pidgey.

regardless of the cameos, the gameplay itself is pretty solid. the game features bombs and enemies and is basically your typical match 3 (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, with some pieces requiring you to remove them twice), although with some fairly novel mechanics. in the game you maneuver toad around the board. he can pick up any part of a stack (or a single piece from a stack), but is limited to where he can drop it. the game also alternates between two phases, one in which you have time to set up combos, and another that is more fast paced and is more about reacting. although they initially feel somewhat awkward, the controls work well and the gameplay is well balanced and well thought out. even after mastering the game’s mechanics the controls still feel a bit finicky, but the game is enjoyable overall. the focus of the game is on progressing through stages rather than racking up a high score, which is also a change of pace, and as with most puzzle games this game includes bonuses for chains and combos and a 2-player vs. mode.

in my post about brain age: concentration training (for 3DS) i’d mentioned “blob blast”, an activity included as part of that game’s “relaxation” activities that’s a touch-screen based reworking of wario’s woods (see the official site for a video clip). the touchscreen controls of “blob blast” remove all of traces of awkwardness of the original, although as a result the game feels much less unique. wario’s woods feels a little rougher around the edges, but its mechanics are definitely much quirkier and give the game much more character, even beyond the presentation. the game’s pace is much slower than the 3DS version in that there are 99 stages to work through (apparently the game includes a “round jump” function, which “saves your progress every fifth level and lets you jump back in later”) and the difficulty increases far too gradually (the game also allows you to accumulate continues by earning coins upon beating a level, with more coins given for faster times). as a result i found myself completely bored by round 51, and have set the game aside indefinitely (this is one of those games that, no doubt, greatly benefits from its 2P vs. mode). and although the game ostensibly features two single-player modes, the only difference is that in game B you encounter boss battles at regular intervals which are the same as regular levels except you have to remove pieces adjacent and in the same direction as a boss character that teleports around the board.

overall the game is memorable and unique, and it’s definitely not the worst of nintendo’s many puzzle games. although it’s not a puzzle game for the ages, it’s still pretty fun and puzzle fans looking for something a bit different should enjoy it.

visit these wario’s woods links:
– review of wii u VC version at nintendolife.com
– FAQ with a run-down of all the stages
– entry at wikipedia
– video of the ending
– video of a complete playthrough