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

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dr. luigi‘s in the house

dr. luigi was a surprise nintendo direct announcement at the tail end of last year that added another game starring our favorite plumber in green (and now doctor, insert joke here) to the year of luigi festivities (although related events continued through this year, even after miyamoto declared its official end in march). the release of dr. luigi can be viewed in several ways. yes, it’s an obvious ploy to add yet another iteration of the dr. mario series, previously most recently seen on wiiware, in late may of 2008 and DSiware, about a year later, and the game does reproduce almost identically almost all the modes of the wiiware release. the game also recycles the touchscreen controls, originally seen in brain age 2 on DS and which made a reappearance in the latest brain age game, brain age: concentration training on 3DS. on top of that, the game is available via various VC releases of the original NES and GB versions.

with all these options, for casual players it seems a bit hard to justify yet another iteration of what has essentially been the exact same game even though three and a half years have elapsed since the last full release, esp. since the wiiware version is playable on wii u, although it makes more sense given that nintendo’s wi-fi service for wii (and DS) is shutting down in a few days. the presentation is similarly barebones as the previous wiiware and DSiware releases: developer arika, perhaps most known for their 3D classics releases, just don’t give the games they work on much personality, even taking into account that they’re often adaptations of previous games. (although, there’s a trio of new viruses in pastel versions of the original colors — and featuring a female virus for the first time — and a couple of new tracks).

virtually all the reviews i’ve seen online have dismissed the “operation L” modes (i.e. new luigi modes) as nothing more than a gimmick, but the mode should be more appealing to newbies and dr. mario aficionados. the reason newbies should enjoy it is because on the low and medium difficulty levels it makes it much easier to form a group of four (because the L-shaped pills consist of 3 of the same color together), and thus makes the game much faster paced. the reason aficionados will enjoy it is because in general it makes you rethink your strategies, but on the hard level the game completely changes and the true brilliance of it really becomes apparent. at this level the L shapes don’t have 3 of the same color together, so clearing the board requires much more consideration. this elevates the new mode past the luigi gimmick and makes it the first true expansion to the dr. mario series’ mechanics in 23 and a half years.

it seems like most reviewers didn’t spend enough time with the operation L modes to discover how worthwhile it really is, and nintendo could have done a better job of making it more apparent (with mission and/or puzzle modes) and otherwise rounding out the $15 package with other equally fresh gameplay to make it feel more complete. even though the true worth of the game will probably remain lesser known i suppose it’s somehow fitting since luigi himself has always flown a little under the radar. still, the game is an easy recommendation for people who don’t already have one of the many versions of the game, for dr. mario vets who are eager for new wi-fi battles, and for long-time dr. mario fans who are willing to invest in the time to uncover and enjoy the more challenging aspects of the new luigi modes.

dr. luigi links in the house:
– entry on miiverse
– page on official nintendo site
– entry on metacritic

warming little inferno

i finally finished my first real (i.e. non-virtual-console) game on wii u! whoo! there’s no question that wii u has gotten off to a slow start, but while wrapping up a longer game on the system (stay tuned for my next post) i spent an afternoon playing through the downloadable indie title little inferno. this is going to be a relatively short review because what needs to be said about the game has been said in many places, but in particular i recommend checking out the reviews at lofi-gaming.org.uk, totilo’s review at kotaku, and nintendolife.

i was wary of the game since by all accounts it was short and i’ve found that games that are hailed for being unique tend to be vastly overrated, not to mention that i’d tried their other major previous effort, world of goo, a while back and just hadn’t been able to get into it despite all the critical praise it had garnered. but this game can be appreciated on multiple levels. the core gameplay experience of burning things and discovering combos is entertaining enough, even for those not naturally pyromaniacally inclined, and you can also appreciate the incredible polish throughout, including fantastic art design and music. but for me and many other people it’s the surprising ending (in the form of what is basically an extended epilogue) that recontextualizes the entire game and makes the whole experience suddenly much deeper and richer: the game is a 21st-century fable and one of the most successful “experimental” games i’ve played yet.

much as i was impressed by the game, i had an internal debate about where i would rank it in my personal list of greats. despite the shading provided by the ending, the game in general feels slight and there’s really not much in the way of replayability, but neither of those observations are real criticisms given the game’s scope and intentions. i also felt mixed feelings about some red herrings that caused me and apparently many others to waste time trying to get a better ending. but in the end i did add it to my list of all-time greats, just due to how memorable the entire experience was. totilo put it well when he wrote:

The test I want a good game to pass is simple: I want it to stick with me. I want it to seep into my thoughts days after I played it. Little Inferno is simple. It’s somehow both quaint and bold. It lingers. It burns brightly. It burns well.

it’s not a game that i’ll be replaying any time soon, but it’s a game that everyone should play, and at its current price of $5 (on wii u and on ipad) there’s no reason not to catch this game, which offers a glimpse of a brighter future for video games as a genre.

warming little inferno links:
– official site which includes a free download of the soundtrack
– if you’re looking for some good conversation about the game, check out this thread on steam. and here’s some discussion about trying to get a better ending (punchline: there isn’t one).
– apparently there’s a wiki?
– entry at howlongtobeat.com

roundin’ up hooligans in mighty switch force!

i usually try to play series in order, but i got suckered into downloading mighty switch force! thanks to a promotion that nintendo ran for a few weeks last july. i’d heard a lot of good things about developer wayforward, and although i’ve dipped into some of their games i hadn’t actually sat down and finished any of them. i decided to finish this one since i knew it was a relatively short game, which some may see as a minus, but for me these days is more of a plus, given my limited time for gaming.

the game’s central mechanic is using a button to switch blocks from the foreground to the background, and vice versa. at its most basic this translates into having to press two buttons to jump (jump + switch platform into foreground) instead of one, but the developers have done a pretty good job of expanding the core concept to a game’s worth of worthwhile elements. the game was fairly short at 16 levels but since its initial 3DS release has been expanded to 21, and in its wii u incarnation it’s been expanded even further. the 5 bonus levels don’t really add much new in terms of gameplay, but i was surprised at how much i enjoyed continuing after the initial ending at level 16. part of what makes the game so enjoyable is its huge amount of polish (in everything from character design to artwork to music) that in the end offsets the amount of somewhat cheap try-and-die situations that are purposely put near the ends of levels. from a developer perspective this pacing helps emphasize the speed trial aspect of the game since it forces you to play through almost the entire level several times to get through the last little bit and in doing so helps get you closer to the “par” time, but not being a fan of time trials the try-and-die gameplay didn’t feel wholly justified. still, despite these minor drawbacks i ended up quite liking the game, enough so that i probably will try to beat some time trial speeds and even spring for the wii u version whenever i get around to it. before that, though, i’ll be checking out the other entries in their well-received mighty series.

round up these mighty switch force! links:
– official site
– review at nintendolife.com
– entry at howlongtobeat.com
– entry at wikipedia