stay off of a kappa’s trail

i’m in the middle of a long game, so i spent a few hours this week plowing through the end of a game that i was glad to see finished off, a kappa’s trail, for DSiware. the game was highly recommended by nintendo power, so i thought i would try it out. it was developed by brownie brown, most known for the japan-only magical vacation and its DS follow-up magical starsign. the game’s warm, hand-drawn aesthetic is also highly reminiscent of the layton series, which the company also contributed to (namely, the fourth installment).

to me the game feels like a classic case of the early DS days, a time when less thoughtful developers assumed they could make a game worth playing by merely replacing button controls with clumsy touchscreen actions. the game came out more than 5 years after the DS debuted, though, which really gives it little excuse for how boring the gameplay is. in the game you draw out the main character’s path, a cute koopa who is trying to reach the human world. this in and of itself isn’t too bad, but since you have no control over how fast he goes it gets to be supremely annoying when you’re trying to maneuver blindly over series of moving platforms that move exactly as fast as he can walk, leaving you no room for error and a lot of stupid deaths. similarly, because changing the view and attacking objects and enemies are also controlled by the touchscreen instead of buttons, all too often you end up unintentionally sending the hero careening into a pit or other hazard. even worse are the cases where you have to draw a path for the character, move the screen to another area to perform an action such as lighting a lightbulb, and then immediately try to move the screen back. all of these complaints could be countered by arguing that they’re part of what makes the game challenging, but the majority of the time i felt i was struggling with the game’s controls and decidedly not enjoying the game itself.

in addition to the touchscreen actions, following behind the protagonist is the “devil hand” which tries to catch up with and capture our little kappa. this has potential for being an interesting mechanic but just feels annoying, as you end up having to trace circuitous routes to avoid it. again, an unenjoyable game mechanic that superficially adds to the game’s difficulty.

continuing my diatribe, the game also has hidden mini-kappas to find, some of which are optional, but finding them is a matter of literally completely covering every possible patch of every stage’s ground. completely pointless and boring. adding to my annoyance is the fact that you have to exit the stage to buy continues and to unlock the game’s three mini-games you have to find a special item within the stages, without any guide as to where they are. the first mini-game (the only one i found) is also extremely poorly thought out. it’s a puzzle game somewhat like the far more enjoyable polarium and others like it where you have to trace a line for the kappa to follow that touches particular tiles in a certain order. in a “what the heck where they thinking?” move, the developers have put a time limit on each level, consisting of four stages. what’s the point of being able to quickly solve the puzzle? invariably you’ll get stuck on the last one and will have to replay the first three again and again to finish the set.

clearly my annoyance with this game makes it rank low on my master list. although the hand-drawn presentation gives the game a nice feel, the experience throughout is marred by host upon host of irritating design decisions. i’m fairly astounded that anyone would have enjoyed this game, but maybe there are people with $5 to burn who have much more patience and tolerance for finicky controls and tired mechanics than i.

stay on these a kappa’s trail links:
– official site
– entry at nintendo.wikia.com with info on the cameos, including one by captain rainbow
– entry at wikipedia
– in case you’re wondering why your kappa is so fat from eating fish in the hub stage here’s the tip on how to gain new sea creatures to your hub

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ranking the metroid series

earlier this year i finished the last two metroid games i hadn’t played, but it’s taken me a while to find time to sit down and post my ranking of the entire series. in looking at the series as a whole, it’s clear why this deserves a place among the best of nintendo’s franchises, right up there with the mario and zelda series. although the games’ generally slower pace may have caused it to lack the other series’ more-popular appeal, the games are deeply satisfying and from the start focused on exploration in a way that was new, captivating, and hugely influential, as seen by any number of games that followed it, most famously the castlevania series. not to mention its heroine, samus aran, one of the first ladies of gaming, and a true video game icon.

when i ranked the mario series about a year and a half ago i enlisted the help of another blogger to provide a contrasting view. i had a hard time finding someone else who had played the series and wanted to write about it, so this time around i’ll be posting the ordering of the soon-to-be-defunct nintendo power. they included a ranking in their october 2010 (v. 259) edition, although it omits metroid: other M, which had just been released. so without further ado, here’s my ranking of the fantastic metroid series, with links to the corresponding posts on my blog. as with the mario series, i’m really looking forward to seeing how my own opinion evolves as i begin my second tour of the series, and heartily looking forward to more games in this great series. (incidentally, i didn’t include them in the list, but if you’re interested you can check out my thoughts on metroid prime pinball and the metroid prime hunters demo called first hunt.)

the metroid series
as ranked by geozeldadude and nintendo power
#	geozeldadude‘s list	nintendo power’s list (excerpts from vol. 259)
1	metroid prime (GCN) (1 | 2 | 3): much as i loved super metroid, i have to give metroid prime the edge and put it at the top of my list, and i suspect many people would be as torn as i am. although i prefer 2-D games in general metroid prime brings the metroid universe to life in a way that really highlighted all the advantages of the 3-D game, at the expense of minimal drawbacks. the gaming universe was skeptical, to say the least, of the transition to 3-D, but retro studios pulled it off beautifully: not only nailing the combat, but succeeding in making the platforming feel natural as well. the game builds on the core metroid exploration-focused gameplay and incorporates new, absolutely top-notch design. there are several gaming moments in my life that really stick out in my mind as highlights, and first landing in the light rain of tallon IV and stepping out into the gentle snowfall of phendrana drifts are high among them. one of my favorite games of all time, up there with mario 3 and the original game boy tetris. i’m wary of replaying this game again in case it loses some of its magic (esp. after having played through its sequels), but at the same time i’m quite looking forward to it.	Super Metroid: Super Metroid, even more than the 8-bit original, defines what we think of as a Metroid game. The action is beautifully tuned, but it’s not a pure action game. It’s a game about exploring an alien world, about always wanting to find out what’s around that next corner. The drive to progress — to knock of the bosses and gather new items — is all wound up in that need to push forward and see something new. … It’s the kind of world that compels you to visit again and again, and it makes Super Metroid one of the finest games of all time.
2	super metroid (SNES): another case of a close second. although i played this game after fusion, the difference really is in the details and this game was perfectly paced and a leap forwards from the NES and game boy games.	Metroid Prime: Playing Metroid Prime felt a little strange at first. But one thought predominated: “They actually did it.” Prime spent a very long time in development, during which Metroid fans wondered if their beloved side-scrolling series would really work with a shift to a first-person perspective. … Then the fall of 2002 rolled around. You could feel a collective double-take ripple through the gaming world as we discovered that Metroid Prime was everything we could have hoped it would be: a powerfully immersive 3D re-creation of the classic Metroid experience. … Rarely has a series so perfectly made such a massive technological leap, but Nintendo and Retro Studios almost made it look easy.
3	metroid: zero mission (GBA): usually i wouldn’t include remakes in a list like this, but zero mission feels completely distinct from the NES original it’s based on. although the NES game originated the core of the series’ greatness, zero mission had a few new tricks up its sleeve, including a great section featuring the debut of zero-suit samus. and although samus was as sprightly and speedy as in fusion, the pacing of this game was much better with areas opening up in a more satisfying way.	Metroid: Zero Mission: Zero Mission is the kind of remake that gives remakes a good name. The Game Boy Advance revival of the original Metroid got it right — it held on to the essential character of a classic game while improving it in every possible way. … Better graphics … Deeper storytelling … New bosses, new items, new areas, a whole new final level … What’s more quietly exciting is the way Zero Mission creates a bridge from the first Metroid adventure to the events of the Metroid Prime trilogy, making it feel more like those games are telling one big story.
4	metroid (NES): although i’d played it as a kid, it took me a while to bring myself to replay the original NES game. despite modern sensibilities the lack of a map turned out to not be as painful as i had feared, and although i was stuck for a bit trying to find the ice beam i enjoyed the game’s slower pace and reacquainting myself with the origins of the series. not quite the classic that the original mario is, but still very enjoyable.	Metroid Prime 3: Corruption: Though it never quite reaches the towering heights of the first Metroid Prime, Corruption nonetheless stands as a phenomenal conclusion to the trilogy. The move to the Wii console brought with it enhanced controls, which demonstrated that first-person shooting could feel significantly better with the Wii Remote than with a standard controller. To showcase that, Corruption shifted the formula slightly to place a greater emphasis on action … Retro Studios again proved its knack for crafting imaginative, cohesive worlds that beg to be explored.
5	metroid fusion (GBA): my bias towards 2-D games puts fusion ahead of the other games. the linearity of fusion didn’t bother me as much as it did others, and i found it to be a nice change of pace from the rest of the series. but the game does feel easier and more mindless than the rest of the series. a middle-ranking metroid game still beats out many other games, though, and it’s still an enjoyable if not hugely memorable experience.	Metroid (NES): … Metroid combined platforming with world exploration to make an adventure that was thoroughly unique for its time and has been the template for dozens of games since. Samus Aran jumped, rolled and fired lasers and missiles with an inventive control scheme that took full advantage of the Control Pad and two buttons. … the game broke new console ground with its amosphere and exploration-heavy platforming, plus it was among the first console adventure [sic] with a female lead character. Old-school players may see the series originator’s number-six ranking as an injustice, but the game does show its age. … Furthermore, its place on the list is a testament to the innovation that it inspired in the Metroid games that followed.
6	metroid prime hunters (DS): it was refreshing to play a 3-D metroid on a handheld, and it was impressive how much of the metroid prime design they managed to fit in. there were still many places where the limitations were apparent, though, including the visuals and recycled boss fights. the controls weren’t ideal (although not that uncomfortable) and the new emphasis on combat was a nice change of pace, although the repetitive structure made the experience feel too predictable. more memorable than fusion, but a less polished experience overall.	Metroid Prime 2: Echoes: Prime 2 might be a better game than this ranking suggests, if you look at it in a vacuum. It suffered a bit from coming out relatively soon after the breakthrough of the first Metroid Prime, though. They’re very much alike in some regards, and the sequel amplified some of the weaker points of the original. Nonetheless, Echoes is worth playing, beyond a doubt, for its grim, moody atmosphere and some very creative level designs. The rest of the Metroid Prime trilogy just happens to be a fair bit better.
7	metroid prime 3: corruption (wii): it took me a lot of effort to finish this game. the third in the trilogy really didn’t add much new except for the new wii controls which felt great. despite the polish the formula felt tired, and the overall experience was highly disappointing.	Metroid II: The Return of Samus: When it was the only handheld Metroid on the block, volume two of the original saga held up all right. It’s been a while since then, though, and subsequent games raised the bar pretty high. The graphics and stages couldn’t help but be repetitive — you can ask only so much from the original Game Boy — and that emphasized problems with the level layout and scenario design. … Return of Samus has its memorable moments, though, especially the introduction of the charming little Metroid larva.
8	metroid ii: the return of samus (GB): samus’s first foray onto a handheld console. serves as a nice bridge between the original NES game and the SNES masterpiece, but the linearity does hold it back. a fun metroid game, but not that memorable when compared to the rest of the series.	Metroid Prime Hunters: [The] packed-in demo of Metroid Prime Hunters, subtitled First Hunt … proved the fledgling handheld as a viable platform for first-person-perspective gaming. The final version of Hunters … touting a relatively short single-player adventure and multiplayer arena battles for up to four via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, along with a voice-chat feature. Samus was just one of seven bounty hunters tearing up the game’s space-station locations, and each had similarly crafty abilities. … The emphasis on the multiplayer experience makes it less of a classic Metroid adventure than the rest, and control proved to be a little unwieldy.
9	other M (wii): i had a really bad experience playing this game. although i’m all for series exploring and testing their boundaries, this game really felt subpar in every way. as a successor to fusion the nimbleness of our heroine makes some sense, but the ninja-style combat felt shoehorned in. the needless transitions from 2-d to 3rd-person and 1st-person views were awkward at best and extremely jolting and irritating at worst. the exploration lacks the masterful design of the other games in the series, and the hokey story disappointed legions of fans, myself included. probably the most disappointing main-series nintendo game i’ve ever played, and the only consolation is that the series can only go up from here. (hopefully sooner than later!)	–
10	metroid prime 2: echoes (GCN): as disappointed as i was in other M, i have to give it the edge over metroid prime 2 and put the latter in last place in my ranking. prime 2 is far from a bad game, and it seems really unfair to put it in last place, but that just goes to show how consistently great the series is. the game felt like a rehash of the original metroid prime, and the endless monochromatic purple of the dark world really brought down the overall experience for me. prime 3 mixed things up a bit better and had the added benefit of new motion controls on wii, but aside from more of the same there wasn’t much that felt really new in prime 2.	–

metroid prime pinball: missions complete

in my last post i mentioned that metroid prime 3: corruption was the last main metroid game i had to finish. the last metroid game was actually the only spin-off the series has seen thus far, metroid prime pinball, which i played through immediately after finishing MP3. so now i’ve officially finished the whole series! w00t! but more on that later …

metroid prime pinball was enjoyable and makes good use of the metroid prime 1 assets, including sound effects, bosses, powerups (bombs, power bombs, and missiles), and general aesthetic, and the boards fit perfectly on the two-screen tall DS. the pinball games i’ve played thus far haven’t been character driven in this way, and it made for a nice change of pace; i’m looking forward to exploring that side of pinball video gaming more. i also enjoyed the bit of extra kick the game gets from the under-utilized rumble pak. (also, just a side note for anyone who didn’t already know, you can bump the table by swiping the touch screen, something i didn’t find out until after i had beaten the game, doh!)

you can play any single board you’ve unlocked in a high-score mode, but the mission mode, where you progress through a pinball version of the metroid prime story, is the real draw. however, the game suffers from being quite uneven. first off, there are two boards you can start off on, tallon IV and the pirate frigate, but the latter is much more difficult and soon you’ll be constantly skipping it in favor of the former. the tallon IV board is by far the most enjoyable and polished part of the game. the board has heaps of things to do on it, and you’re required to complete numerous missions, including non-pinball oriented mini-games such as shooting down enemies, in order to obtain artifacts to beat the mission mode. pirate frigate has a similar setup but feels barer, and the four remaining boards are focused on boss battles and in comparison are quite short and simple. finishing this mode is satisfying and i didn’t mind that the overall experience didn’t drag on, although i had little interest in tackling the expert mode that becomes unlocked.

all in all, a fun experience and i can now say i’ve officially beaten all the metroid games. will be posting a separate entry on that before too long. in the mean time, here’s to many more years of power suit-losing, morph ball-rolling, speedrunning, and spin attacking greatness from ms. samus aran!

flip through these metroid prime pinball links:
– good FAQ at gamefaqs
– tips on expert mode
– apparently nintendo power game the game a whopping 9.5 out of 10
– entry at wikipedia
– and just for fun, someone’s created a necklace of a metroid eating a pikachu, haha.

metroid prime 3: corruption concluded

metroid prime 3: corruption was the last main metroid game i had to finish, but it took me a ridiculous amount of stopping and starting before i finally sat down and gave it enough attention to see it through to the end. the game was one of the earliest wii games, and definitely and immediately proves that the wii’s controls are ideal for FPSes as the game features a smoother control than ever before seen on a home console. presentation- and content-wise the game doesn’t feel like much of a step up from the gamecube games; in fact the metroid prime formula is followed so closely that despite the polish i found myself more bored than i have been in almost any other metroid game (how much more scanning do i have to slog through??).

there are some minor differences, although for me not enough to keep the momentum going. there’s a stronger emphasis on combat, which didn’t really interest me much, especially since the difficulty of the game is incredibly low (perhaps due to it being on wii and an attempt to bring the series to a new audience). like recent entries in the series the game is fairly linear, but the inclusion of warp points (common in the zelda series but new for the metroid series) is appreciated, although hopping between multiple planets is a cosmetic change that doesn’t add anything new in terms of gameplay. samus’s ship plays a greater, albeit still quite minor, role, but the gesture-based controls do add a feeling of immediacy and help make the experience feel unique. i’m a bit ambivalent about the expansion of the metroid world to include additional characters and voice-acted interactions, such as with random soldier NPCs. part of the appeal of the series has been the sense of isolation, and on the one hand, adding more characters, etc. helps add motivation to the plot, while on the other hand the most notable additions, the three rival bounty hunters, mostly come across as being little more than x-men rip-offs (despite this gandrayda still turned out to be pretty cool).

the hyper mode system is a bit gimmicky and pointless and didn’t really appeal to me (in fact, the producer says that retro was reluctant to include it at the beginning). unlocking bonus content via tokens (inc. tokens you can only get by exchanging over wi-fi with a registered friend) is also fairly pointless and annoying. it seems the majority of reviewers didn’t share my opinion overall, however, as it received rave reviews upon its release including a perfect score from ye olde nintendo power.

it’s great to finally have this final metroid notch on my belt, and the controls make me really look forward to revisiting MP1 via the metroid prime trilogy. i’m really looking forward to seeing where the series goes, especially after the lukewarm response to other M, and i hope that some of the hunters from the DS game make a return someday. retro studios proved themselves with a bang with their amazing take on the metroid series with their first metroid prime release, but it remains to be seen if they, or any other studio, can repeat their breath-taking feat with the series. i, for one, am definitely looking forward to it, and also to replaying all the games in this amazing series.

corrupted metroid prime 3: corruption links:
– page collecting videos of the 3 endings
– here are the translations of the messages you can hear from samus’s gunship
– having played this game some 4 and a half years after its release i missed out on the MP3 wii channel, but here are all the videos on youtube: set 1 | set 2 | set 3 | set 4 | set 5
– i agree with quite a lot of this look back at MP3 on n-sider.com although be forewarned, there be spoilers
– and just for fun, here’s what a goomba to metroid transformation looks like

top 10 DS games … so far

i’m finishing up a loooong game, so i thought i’d post my fourth in a slowly ongoing series of top 10 games (the otherwise most recent was my list of top 10 game boy (and game boy color) games from a year ago). although i played a lot of gamecube games when i first started getting back into video games, the system that i’ve ended up spending the most amount of time on overall has been the DS. the DS seemed to inspire a lot of new gameplay ideas, much more so than the wii with its sometimes tiring motion controls, and its library features great new entries from long-established franchises as well as many completely new ones. i could wax on, but rather than sing its praises i’ll let my list do the talking. incidentally, although the system is on its way out, there are still games that i’m hoping will make it over stateside, including the hotel dusk sequel, and especially the latest fire emblem game, which was released in japan almost a year ago to the day, but has yet to be announced for release outside of japan. i’m still among those who cling to the smallest shred of hope, however, and if you do as well you should sign this online petition.

anyway, to get back to the topic at hand, as with previous lists i’ve included some other people’s lists for comparison, namely nintendo power and IGN’s. NP’s is from 2008, but although their list is a bit dated it should still provide an interesting comparison. IGN’s list is from 2010 (their 2009 list was more similar to NP’s). also, keep in mind that this is a work continually in progress, and that there are many more DS games i have yet to play that could very well be future contenders. without further ado, here it is (with links to my corresponding blog entries):

TOP DS GAMES (SO FAR …)
#	my list	NP’s list	IGN’s list
1	elite beat agents	elite beat agents	mario kart DS
2	advance wars: dual strike	new super mario bros.	new super mario bros.
3	brain age	mario kart DS	picross DS
4	animal crossing: wild world	the world ends with you	pokemon heartgold/soulsilver
5	osu! tatakae! ouendan	tetris DS	mario & luigi: bowser’s inside story
6	kirby: canvas curse	castlevania: dawn of sorrow	the legend of zelda: spirit tracks
7	hotel dusk: room 215	contra 4	the world ends with you
8	the world ends with you	the legend of zelda: phantom hourglass	elite beat agents
9	yu-gi-oh! world championship 2007 (1 | 2)	phoenix wright: ace attorney justice for all	grand theft auto: chinatown wars
10	fire emblem: shadow dragon	sonic rush adventure	tetris DS

it turns out there’s quite a variety among the lists. the IGN list favors very recent releases, and my list ignores two major franchise iterations: new super mario bros., which was in my 11th position due to being just too familiar, and phantom hourglass, which was in my 12th position for feeling just too easy and mindless (the same could be said of NSMB). i’m not completely convinced that yu-gi-oh! world championship 2007 deserves a spot on my list, especially considering my second experience with it, but it along with shadow dragon (a perfectly good strategy game but not among the greatest in the fire emblem series) probably won’t hold their positions for that long, considering all the great DS games i have yet to play. and to conclude, i have to give a mention to all the other enjoyable DS games i’ve played but didn’t quite make my list of greats for various reasons, including metroid prime hunters, advance wars: days of ruin, and trauma center, as well as all the games that provided worthwhile experiences even if they weren’t must-play games, including nintendogs, polarium, and feel the magic XY/XX. definitely looking forward to playing more of the great library of DS games!

retro mario kart: super circuit

even though i’m not a huge fan of racers, for the most part i’ve been enjoying working my way through the mario kart series. the games provide fairly worthwhile challenges while allowing you to recover from mistakes through the use of items, which generally makes the experience more fun than frustrating esp. when compared to other racers. i had skipped over mario kart: super circuit for GBA and played the gamecube entry, but then i realized the DS and wii games include some courses that originated in super circuit and felt i should backtrack to it before continuing on.

the main reason i had wanted to skip over MK:SC was because i knew that it was going to be similar to the SNES version, so it’s not surprising that when i started playing it i really rather disliked it, particularly because of the flatness and sameness of the courses. the majority of the courses are riffs of the original SNES courses anyway, and i found myself missing the variety of the N64 and gamecube versions. but by the time i’d gotten 1st on all the cups i was able to appreciate, although still not quite love, the limitations of the hardware and somewhat enjoy the retro (GBA) on top of retro (SNES) feel of the game. the ranking system definitely adds to the replay value and makes the game much more worth playing (i’m still not quite convinced that collecting coins is more than just a tiresome chore, but i do like that it forces you to drive different routes through the course), and the inclusion of all the SNES courses is a great bonus. while replaying the SNES courses i was amazed at how extremely short they are; no wonder they require five laps instead of what has become the customary three. since the SNES courses are so short, even though they’re extremely similar to the new GBA tracks those cups have a distinct feel.

incidentally, for anyone wondering, i used wario throughout the game. usually i don’t use heavyweights, so either the game is easier than the others or my skillz have improved, because he turned out to be a good choice for me, despite his weird voice (apparently the same as the japanese N64 mario kart voice). another bit of trivia: the game was developed by intelligent systems, much better known for their work on some of my favorite series of all time, namely fire emblem and advance wars.

in the end mario kart: super circuit turned out to be a step back in more ways than one. aside from the ranking system (it’s with mixed emotions that i note that ranking appears in the DS and wii versions as well) and the first appearance of retro cups (oh, and a 180-degree move you can do by pressing the A and B buttons simultaneously), the game didn’t really introduce much that was really new to the series. still, i suppose as the first portable mario kart it’s great for what it is, namely a sequel instead of just a straight port, and it was nice to revisit the original SNES experience. definitely looking forward to the DS and wii versions, though.

vroom! these mario kart: super circuit links are leaving you in the dust!
– a lot of good info at mariowiki.com: also includes a lot of the official artwork
– good page at themushroomkingdom.net: includes screenshots and wallpapers
– here’s a good FAQ at gamefaqs that includes detailed ASCII maps and character info
– this FAQ has detailed info on the ranking system
– and just for fun, here’s a video of a driving simulation system for the SNES mario kart (that i first read about in nintendo power haha)

supreme super mario bros. 3

there have been more than a few games that i played as a tyke that i’ve been wanting to play again, although there’s always a certain amount of trepidation involved due to the very real risk of completely ruining a blissful memory. i was particularly worried about replaying the original super mario bros. 3 on NES, partly because i have distinct memories of it not only being one of the greatest platformers of all time, but also one of the greatest games of all time as well, and also because i personally have cherished memories of it just from the fact that i spent the first few weeks of summer vacation in elementary school (even missing the last day of school) with the worst case of poison ivy in history, and the only thing that got me through it was this game. (i had such a bad reaction that i even had to get a shot in a very uncomfortable place to bring the swelling down.)

so i’ve been putting this game off for a while, even though it was the last of the mario series that i hadn’t played and beaten in the last five years. i finally decided to give it a runthrough last weekend, and i ended up playing through every level of the game in one sitting. i was surprised at both how much i did and didn’t remember, and being a much more experienced gamer this time i found some secrets that i’d never noticed before. i’d forgotten just how many new elements were introduced to the mario universe in this game, particularly a host of new enemies that have become core characters including chain chomps, thwomps, boos, dry bones, and nipper plants (not to mention P-switches, the giant world, and the koopalings). what makes the game even more special is the number of elements that have as yet never been reused, including the angry sun, hot foot the candle, kuribo’s shoe, and the fantastic new powerup suits (frog, hammer bro, raccoon, and tanooki). i’d also completely forgotten that para-beetles (the flying buzzy beetles that made their reappearance in a fantastic stage in new super mario bros. wii) and spikes (those green enemies that spit out spiked balls) originated in this game. this was also the first mario game that included a world map with their attendant mini-games and mushroom houses.

it’s hard to separate the nostalgia from any semblance of objectivity, but after my mini-marathon i have to say the game definitely still holds up, so much so that i have to put it among the absolute top of my list of greatest games of all time. it’s almost impossible for me to choose between this game and the first super mario bros. game since the latter was so incredibly influential. at this particular moment in time, though, i have to give super mario bros. 3 the edge. although it didn’t create a new series, the amount that it expanded the series’ universe was incredible, at least doubling its previous size and scope. the sheer variety of stages and challenges has arguably never been matched, and the expansion of the gameplay along with the spot-on controls, vibrant graphics, music, colorful characterization, and plethora of secrets, not to mention some fun multiplayer interactions, all combine to make this a game for the ages. it’s a great relief to find out that the game holds up as well as it did in 1990, and now that i’m through with one pass through the entire mario series i’m looking forward to revisiting the series again, especially through its various remakes, and reevaluating my initial opinions. more to come on that in the near future …

super supreme-o super mario bros. 3 links:
– great site at themushroomkingdom.net including a nice list of tips ‘n tricks and a comparison of the japanese vs. english versions. it seems like there’s a neverending supply of things to learn about this game, like who the heck jugem is.
– entry at mariowiki.com
– some maps at nesmaps.com
– i rarely read game guides, but nintendo power’s issue 13 was completely devoted to unveiling all the secrets of the game. i skimmed through my copy and wasn’t too surprised to find a number of things i had missed, mostly related to flying. you can download a copy at retromags.com.
– and in a case of coincidental timing, just this past week iwata unveiled a strong hint that the 3DS mario game may have some connection with super mario bros. 3 beyond the number 3. let the drooling begin!

mario’s (and luigi’s, toad’s, and peach’s) dream land

i seem to be playing a lot of games with the number 2 in the title lately, most recently the NES and mario classic super mario bros. 2, aka doki doki panic. SMB‘s storied past is by now well known (and for those not in the know themushroomkingdom.net has a thorough comparison), and although i can’t but still harbor some feelings of it not quite being a “true” mario game i was looking forward to replaying this classic from my childhood.

after playing through all the levels i ended up having somewhat mixed feelings about the game. it’s still as big a kick as ever to get to play as luigi, toad, and peach, and in my mind that automatically elevates the game to a notably high level. the game’s production values are incredibly high, as you’d expect (supposedly miyamoto was a producer and designer for the original version, although i haven’t found any definitive confirmation of that), and the music, graphics, and characters, enemies, and boss fights are all memorable. the problem is that the gameplay is much less accessible than any other game in the series. this is due to the throwing mechanic, which while novel and utilizing realistic physics, takes some time to master. it works fine, but i can definitely see how throwing items while standing vs while walking, running, or jumping would be frustrating to newbies. also, the luck-based method for acquiring 1-ups, via a slot-machine-style minigame at the end of each stage, is annoying and much less satisfying than its predecessor’s method of simply collecting 100 coins. and the fact that luigi is so superior to all the other characters makes the character selection mechanic feel a bit underused.

all of these are minor quibbles for what is a classic game though. although i found myself feeling less nostalgic for this black sheep of the mario series than for the original game, i still enjoyed myself and am looking forward to playing its GBA remake (although i can already tell that version is going to be almost painfully too easy). i’m glad that so many great characters who made their debut here have gone on to become series staples, such as the shyguys, pokey, and the much-discussed birdo, although there are many more that i’m still waiting to see again, including mouser and the great villain wart. in the US we got to see luigi become truly distinct from mario for the first time, and it was great to have toad and peach in starring roles, although, again, i still have to lament the fact that it’s been far too long for that trio to reappear to team up with mario in a similar starring role. one can only dream …

mario’s (and luigi’s, toad’s, and peach’s) dream links:
– the aforementioned page at themushroomkingdom.net includes thorough comparisons of different versions, screenshots, glitches, sprites, and MIDIs
– gamesradar’s 10 things you didn’t know about SMB2: all of this stuff is covered at TMK (previous link), but it’s a nice overview
– a guy named cory godbey has been doing a series of cartoons for gonintendo.com, more than a few of which feature SMB2. this one is particularly memorable.
– PDF of the manual at replacementdocs.com
– maps at vgmaps.com
– some video footage of doki doki panic (featuring some really grating sound effects)
– and who could forget the great cover picture and coverage of the game in the first issue of nintendo power?

top 10 game boy and game boy color games … so far

as my third entry in my continuing series of top 10 “so far” lists (top 10 gamecube games was the most recent one), here’s my list of top 10 game boy (and game boy color) games. i find the relatively primitive aspects of the game boy to be tremendously appealing (with the exception of its god-awful screen), and it continues to amaze me how much darn good clean fun the developers managed to pack into that tiny machine. top 10 lists for the game boy are rather hard to find, particularly ones that don’t include game boy color games, so for now i’m lumping GB and GBC games together although in the future i’ll probably separate them. nintendo power’s 20th anniversary list provides a good point of comparison, so without further ado here it is (with, as before, the links to my corresponding blog entries):

TOP GAME BOY AND GAME BOY COLOR GAMES
(SO FAR …)
#	my list	NP’s list
1	tetris	tetris DX
2	pokemon yellow	the legend of zelda: link’s awakening
3	the legend of zelda: link’s awakening	pokemon red/blue
4	toki tori	the legend of zelda: oracle of seasons
5	the legend of zelda: oracle of seasons	the legend of zelda: oracle of ages
6	super mario land 2: 6 golden coins	pokemon gold/silver
7	kirby’s dream land	super mario land 2: 6 golden coins
8	mario’s picross	donkey kong
9	balloon kid	wario land 3
10	wario land: super mario land 3	kirby’s dream land 2

glad to see that NP recognizes how timeless tetris is (although they chose its GBC update tetris DX over the classic original). a fair number of the rest of our lists overlap as well, and in several other cases NP picked sequels over the originals that i prefered (e.g. kirby’s dream land vs kirby’s dream land 2). i’ve played through the majority of the games on NP’s list and at least parts of the remainder and i don’t see them as likely to invade my list, except for possibly oracle of ages. but there are plenty of other classic game boy titles that i haven’t gotten to yet, and plenty of room for newcomers in my list of favorites. onward! to further game boy (and game boy color) glory!

quest puzzled through

i’m really not a fan of bejeweled-type games since they rely on luck more than most puzzle games, but i’d played and somewhat enjoyed jungle jewels, a random flash version, last year and i’d heard a lot of good things about puzzle quest for DS, so i thought i’d pick it up. puzzle quest is a hybrid game, more specifically, a puzzle game with RPG elements. or perhaps a better description would be that it’s an extremely barebones RPG with bejeweled-like gameplay taking the place of traditional turn-based battles. this review at nintendolife.com offers up a good summary.

i agree with most of what that review says, although i’m far less enthusiastic about the game overall. the story and characters are utterly generic; the artwork and presentation are fairly minimal and cause the game to feel like a flash game (the DS version at least, although with the DS’s utterly natural stylus control it’s difficult to imagine the game being anything less than cumbersome on any other platform); and the gameplay is certainly limited even with all of the RPG trappings such as spells and equipment. one thing i wholeheartedly agree with and appreciated, though, is the variations on the main gameplay mode and how well they’re integrated. in the regular battle mode, where you’ll be spending the bulk of your time, you have to take turns against the computer, and your focus is on matching colors you need to cast spells while at the same time not setting up good moves for your opponent; there’s a puzzle mode where you have a fixed board that you have to clear completely; there are modes where, like jungle jewels you have to clear a certain number of each color; and there’s a timed battle mode. all the different modes definitely give the game longevity and provided just enough distractions that i didn’t mind playing through the entire main quest. but despite the good job infinite interactive did on all the gameplay’s RPG trappings and varied modes, at its core the still-too-luck-focused bejeweled gameplay just isn’t interesting or deep enough for me not to get fairly bored before the end.

one of the main complaints about the game is the AI, which many people feel cheats because apparently the computer can make decisions based on a row above the playing board, i.e. a row that the player can’t see. although this type of AI advantage gives an extremely bad impression to the player (see the original super mario kart for another example), i’m going to have to side with nintendolife on this one when they say: “It’s annoying and at times very unfair, but the fact that the player can always upgrade their weapons and armour to give them the edge balances things out a bit.” i.e. since the player has the advantage of a brain and better equipment, etc., the AI needs to cheat to make the game challenging.

all in all this was an enjoyable enough but oddly shallow title. i’m completely burnt out on the bejeweled-type gameplay, so it’s probably going to be a long while before i try any of the other games in the series. previews for the direct sequel have been floating around recently (here’s one from destructoid), and it really just looks like more of the same. well, it’s nice to have a franchise that i have zero interest in being a completist in — for once!

heroic effort! vanquished puzzle quest links!
– entry at wikipedia
– the songlist
– FAQ/walkthrough at gamefaqs.com
– random fansite with game calculators and searchable spell, item, and rune lists
– entry at metacritic: nintendo power gave the game a whopping low score of 40 out of 100. haven’t read the review yet, but i’m guessing that the main complaint was the computer AI.