Category Archives: Video Games

April 28, 2014

Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour

By Joe

With spring comes golf season and this spring brings a new Mario themed golf game as well. Titled World Tour, the game is set for release this week on the Nintendo 3DS which got me to thinking about my favorite title in the Mario Golf series: Toadstool Tour. Released in 2003 for the Nintendo Gamecube, Toadstool Tour was the sequel to the Nintendo 64 game (simply titled Mario Golf) and was the first Mario Golf title to really incorporate the over-the-top components of Mario’s Mushroom Kingdom setting.

Mario has a history of having various hobbies and other jobs. We first knew him as the Princess rescuing Jump Man in Donkey Kong before moving onto his more popular plumber gig for Mario Bros. and the Super Mario Bros. series. Not long after his previously mentioned debut he almost immediately jumped into the world of sports. Nintendo basically decided Mario was its most marketable persona and stuck him into everything. He had cameos in the likes of Tennis and Punch-Out!, but it was the original Golf game that first allowed users to control Mario as he took part in a sport.

Golf games in general have been around basically just as long as video games. Golf is one of the few sports that’s played all around the world so it makes sense that it would be well-represented in game form. Still, it can seem kind of surprising at just how many golf games there are considering it’s often not been a sport real popular with kids (before Tiger Woods, it wasn’t really popular at all). It works though in game form since it doesn’t really require much out of its AI opponents and the slow pace makes it easier to plan. And really, the basic gameplay hasn’t changed a whole lot between NES Golf and Toadstool Tour, though pro-oriented titles like Tiger Woods have made advancements with analog control.

Toadstool Tour is pretty basic on the surface. The user selects an onscreen avatar and a mode for play. Modes include tournament, match play, and Mario specialty modes like coin mode. Each character has its own unique attributes affecting power, control, and spin and also a natural ball trajectory. Mario is the most well-rounded and his ball travels straight while a power hitter like Bowser has a mean hook and less control over where his ball is going. Once on the course, the player has two main modes of play: auto and manual. Auto is basically a one-button approach where the user lets the CPU take over after lining up a shot and pressing A twice. It’s good for kids but most gamers will find it unsatisfying and opt for manual. On manual, the player hits the A button to start the character’s swing and then a bar at the base of the screen starts to fill. The player has to hit the B button to stop the bar at the desired spot for power, and then stop it again as it comes back for control. Once the ball is in the air, the player can affect the spin of the ball in one of four ways: topspin, backspin, super topspin, and super backspin. For those unfamiliar with golf, topspin basically extends the distance of the shot a few yards by making sure the ball rolls forward once it strikes ground. Backspin does the opposite. The standard versions of both are pretty true to life, while the “super” versions can really exaggerate the movement of the ball. Pre-shot, the user can also affect what part of the ball the character strikes by using the D pad. Once the swing starts the player has to hold the analog stick to match the new strike point allowing the player to put more loft on the shot or hook/slice it in a certain direction.

Toadstool Tour may be nearing its eleventh birthday, but it’s still a pretty nice game to look at.

Players have access to a full arsenal of clubs. The game will make a default selection that 90% of the time works best. It’s usually on approach shots where you may opt to go for a different approach such as putting from the fringe as opposed to a chip-shot. The power meter can also be toggled from normal, power, and approach. If using the putter, there are three options for short, medium, and long range. The user is free to select whatever option he or she desires, though the power function has only six uses per round (a perfectly executed shot though, max power plus perfect accuracy, won’t consume a power shot reserve). There are enough options to approach any shot, though if the game has one short-coming it’s with the putting. Putting does not have an accuracy input, it’s simply a two-press function for power. Longer shots are actually fine, but the really short ones can be more troublesome because of how touchy the meter is. For short puts, you basically have to let the meter fill all the way and set your power when it’s coming back. This takes getting used to and novice players will likely miss some short ones as a result which can be really frustrating. Many golf games will have a “gimme” putt feature where a yard or less is automatically sunk by the game. Such a feature would be welcomed here.

The basic gameplay works well, putting excluded, and it actually surprised me with how robust the shot options are. It wouldn’t be a very special game though if it ended there. This is a Mario sports title after all, so a certain amount of “wackiness” is expected and the game mostly delivers in that respect. There are six courses to unlock, not including the par 3 course, and each new one unlocked ups the difficulty factor as well as the amount of Mario-isms. The first course is fairly basic, as are the next couple, but later ones add things such as warp pipes and piranha plant hazards. The final course takes place at Bowser’s castle and features numerous lava hazards, thwomps, and other features common to such a setting. These courses can be pretty difficult, but are definitely more rewarding. Completing courses and certain game modes unlocks additional characters, and competing against individual characters in match play unlocks star versions of those characters. The star characters have improved base stats and are practically mandatory if you want to score under par on the most difficult courses.

It’s not often you have to worry about chain-chomps when getting in a round of 18.

Even though the Mario theme is represented well here, I can’t help but wish there was more. Mario has visited all kinds of different worlds throughout his games and I feel like crazier courses could be designed to accentuate that even more. It is my hope that the new game does just that. Additional courses in general would also be welcomed. Six feels a little light. Eight, or even ten, would be best. There could be ice courses, pipe courses, even a floating airship course. And now that the Mario Galaxy series has come along, some funky gravity-defying course would likely be a fun experiment in course design. More courses would naturally lead to more variety. Most of the courses in Toadstool Tour encourage power over “target golf.” The hardest courses negate that to some degree, but the power golfers definitely seem to have an advantage on most courses. An ice course, for example, would definitely emphasize spin and control over power as the ball’s movements once it hit the ground could be pretty unpredictable.

Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour is currently the best Mario Golf game released and probably the best Mario sports title as well. It strikes a nice balance between the actual game of golf and the more off-beat qualities brought by the Mario gang. It could probably stand to be even more outlandish, and some minor control tweaks could also improve the experience, but as it stands it’s a fun game of golf and offers a different experience from the usual EA Sports type of game. If you’re looking for a home golf game and something to play with friends, Toadstool Tour is a cheap and effective solution.

Leave a comment | tags: bowser, camelot, donkey kong, gamecube, golf, luigi, mario, nintendo, sports games | posted in Sports, Video Games

April 21, 2014

Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (2013)

By Joe

When I was a kid Mickey Mouse was a pretty big video game star. He was always known first and foremost as the official mascot for Disney and its theme parks and for the many cartoons featuring his likeness but he was a frequent star in several video games across multiple consoles. As was often the case back then, Mickey had a different franchise for each of the major consoles. The Sega consoles featured the Illusion series while the Super Nintendo had the Magical Quest games as well as some adventure games for the NES. As the 90’s wound along Mickey started appearing in the same game on both consoles before moving onto the newer machines. Since then his appearances have been cut down, with the Epic Mickey franchise sort of representing a return for Mickey. Even though Mickey was in many games, he never did acquire the reputation of Mario or Sonic (before his reputation was ruined, anyways) and one would be hard-pressed to argue that any of his games were among the best of the era. What they were was usually entertaining and pretty solid.

Mickey was basically a B+ video game star with his hits and misses but his best franchise was probably the Illusion series which appeared on Sega consoles. Developed by Sega, these games were often featured on the Genesis and Game Gear retail boxes as signature games for the consoles. The first was Castle of Illusion and was released for the Mega Drive/Genesis in 1990 with a Game Gear and Master System version to follow in 1991. It starred Mickey as he tried to navigate his way through a castle in order to save his beloved Minnie from the witch, Mizrabel, who was basically the witch/queen from Snow White. A sequel titled Land of Illusion was released for the Game Gear and Master System in 1992 with another sequel to follow on the Genesis titled World of Illusion later that same year. World of Illusion was unique because it starred both Mickey and Donald and featured two-player simultaneous play. Its controls and visuals also represented a noticeable upgrade over the original title and its often viewed as the best of the series.

Castle of Illusion, being an early Genesis title, is somewhat crude by today’s standards. The game’s visuals were never stellar and today they’re almost downright ugly. Mickey has a very jagged, squished look and there isn’t much being animated on him. He’s very sluggish to control and the whole game has kind of a sleepy feel. Still, as an early platformer for the Genesis, it was mostly well received because there wasn’t an obvious Mario clone at the time for the Genesis. Last year Sega released a remake for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, and that’s really what this review is about.

The original game was okay looking at the time, but its grainy visuals and squished Mickey haven’t aged well.

The 2013 version of Castle of Illusion obviously features greatly enhanced visuals when compared with the original. Mickey looks pretty great and the game is an above average looking title for its respective consoles. It isn’t mind-blowing, but is pleasant. The game mostly follows the same path as the original though it does introduce a castle hub world from which Mickey can access the various levels in the game. It’s a little longer than the original, and the levels are a bit different in spots, but for the most part it’s a pretty faithful remake with better graphics. Sega opted to confine Mickey to a 2D plane when navigating the levels but the boss fights usually occur in a 3D environment, which gives them a different feel when compared to the original game. For the most part, I found the boss fights harder in this game than I did on the original cart while the actual stages might have been a tad easier, with some exceptions.

Unfortunately, Sega did not opt to address what is probably the original game’s biggest short-coming and thats the controls. Mickey is still very floaty and very slow. It took me awhile to get used to Mickey’s timing and early on I had difficulty navigating the easiest jumps as a result. Eventually I got used to it but that doesn’t mean I ever fell in love with it. And these floaty controls get to suck more this time around because Mickey has a third dimension to contend with. Easily the most frustrating point of the game for me was the candy level where Mickey has to jump across floating cookies in a milk river. I felt like I was really fighting with the game to get Mickey onto those cookies and I came close to shutting the game off, but managed to persevere. Some of the collision detection is also confounding, particularly with the game’s second boss the Jack-in-the-Box. I found his boxing glove attack was inconsistent. I basically did the same thing for each attack to avoid it, only sometimes it worked and sometimes it did not. I could never tell what was different as every time it looked like Mickey was basically jumping on top of the glove. The final boss is a little annoying too as she attacks with these ghost things that have a green aura around them making it tough to distinguish between the aura and the ghost (which is also green).

The remake mostly goes for a 2.5D approach and looks well enough for a download only release.

The remake mostly goes for a 2.5D approach and looks nice enough for a download only release.

Castle of Illusion is currently free for Playstation Plus subscribers, which is how I experienced it. My free membership expires this week hence why I didn’t shut it off as I wanted to beat it. I downloaded it mostly because it was free, but also because I had some nice memories of the original and wanted to see what Sega did with it. The original game comes with the download and I can safely say that the remake is probably the better game, though it’s also more frustrating. I can’t really recommend it unless you really loved the original game or have a Playstation Plus membership and can check it out for free. It’s a short game and I managed to beat it in an afternoon. The production values are actually pretty nice and the game’s soundtrack is actually better than I remembered (though I kind of prefer the original game’s old school score). The plot basically exists just because it has to and you’re not going to play this to see what happens to Mickey and Minnie, but I suppose that’s better than nothing. Hopefully Sega and Disney made some money off of this remake and a World of Illusion remake is in the cards. That’s a game I’d pay money to play again.

Leave a comment | tags: disney, genesis, illusion, mega drive, mickey mouse, minnie mouse, psn, sega | posted in Video Games

February 21, 2014

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

By Joe

One of the greatest games of all time has to be The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the Super Nintendo. Following the misstep that was Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, Nintendo put out what I consider the true sequel to the original Zelda. A Link to the Past took the gameplay model established in the original game and expanded upon it tenfold. A parallel world, new items and power-ups, a much better and more powerful gameplay engine. Simply put, A Link to the Past was Zelda perfected and no title in the franchise has exceeded it, though some have come close. As is the case with most Zelda games, A Link to the Past did not have a direct sequel (unless you count Link’s Awakening for the Gameboy) and subsequent games in the franchise basically function as a retelling of the Zelda legend. That is, until now, with the release of A Link Between Worlds last fall for the 3DS. Creating a direct sequel now for A Link to the Past could be viewed as an immense challenge on the part of Nintendo, or a sign that the company is running out of ideas and looking to cash-in on a classic game. As far as I’m concerned, an all new Zelda title for the 3DS is a good thing regardless of what ties it has to other games, but I won’t deny it tickled me to go back to the Hyrule I knew over twenty years ago.

As best as I can tell, A Link Between Worlds takes place generations after the events of A Link to the Past. The map layout is the same though and fans of the old game should feel right at home in this one. Plot wise, it’s basically tried and true Zelda: an evil wizard kidnaps the princess and wreaks havoc across the land and only Link can reunite the three components of the triforce and save the day. Replacing the dark world from the first game is Lorule, an alternate Hyrule that uses a similar color palette to the familiar dark world but is broken apart with large chasms sealing off routes. The game is quite pleasing to the eyes without being a graphical powerhouse. Character and enemy designs from A Link to the Past are recreated here with more detail and more color. The soundtrack is upbeat containing many familiar tunes as well as some new compositions. It often suits the setting exceptionally well, and rarely ever does a Zelda soundtrack disappoint.

Link’s newest ability allows him to become a painting on a wall and move around on it.

A Link Between Worlds not only looks familiar, but also plays familiar. Link obtains most of the items from the first game with really only one or two new ones playing any kind of significant role. Link is controlled with the circle pad this time around instead of a directional pad, which is to be expected and functions fine, though I did find it challenging to be precise with projectile weapons, something I don’t remember being a problem in A Link to the Past. There’s some emphasis placed on the early dungeons to show multiple levels at once for Link to traverse, presumably to take advantage of the 3D, but is mostly abandoned quickly. I did not play the game in 3D, but I suppose it’s fine for those who like it. As one can probably deduce from that statement, there are no 3D-specific puzzles in this game such as the ones found in Super Mario 3D Land that force the player to switch on the function, which is fine by me.

Where A Link Between Worlds looks to separate itself from other Zelda titles is with the merge ability Link acquires early in the game. Merge allows Link to become a painting and move along walls. He can go behind some objects this way or slip through cracks and around corners, as well as apply the power in other creative ways. It did take me some getting used to, but overall I found it to be an enjoyable addition to the game and one of the better gimmicks to be featured in a Zelda game. Utilizing the power is easy, but it does take some time to get one’s brain trained in a way to make use of it. There were a few times I was stumped on how to reach a treasure chest or other location only to realize the solution was pretty obvious once my mind caught up and applied the merge ability correctly. Aside from that, most of the other challenges and puzzles should feel familiar to Zelda veterans as they’ll know when to use the hookshot or drop a bomb.

Veterans of A Link to the Past should feel right at home here.

The setup for A Link Between Worlds is basically identical to A Link to the Past. The game starts off in Hyrule with Link having to make his way through three early dungeons before a confrontation at Hyrule Castle opens up a path to Lorule. Link is able to traverse worlds via fissures that appear in walls and various structures that require him to merge with the surface and slide in. As these fissures are found, they’ll appear on the map permanently and some areas are only reachable by exploiting them. Surprisingly, only one dungeon requires the player to bounce between worlds which is something I thought would be exploited further.

The other heavily advertised feature of A Link Between Worlds is the non-linear nature of the game’s dungeons. Once the player reaches Lorule, they can conquer the dungeons in any order they wish (save for one, which requires an item obtained from beating another) before heading off to Lorule Castle for the final battle. This feature is enabled by having all of the traditional Zelda items available to Link from the get-go. Very early in the game, a merchant by the name of Ravio opens up shop in Link’s house. Here Link can rent any item for a small fee and hang onto it until he falls in battle. Link can rent as many items as are available, so if the player enters a dungeon that requires the ice rod, for example, the player can simply go rent it if he hasn’t already. Most players, myself included, will probably rent every item right away and risk having to rent them all again should a game over screen rear its ugly head. Making the game non-linear in this way is kind of fun, but does lessen the reward for getting through a dungeon. Each one still has something for the player to find, but not really on the same level as the usual. It would have been nice if Nintendo added more items to the game for players to find to make-up for this, but oh well.

Many of the game’s bosses feel familiar too.

A Link Between Worlds has one other distinguishing feature when compared with its predecessor: it’s exceptionally easy. Aside from Zelda II, no Zelda title really has a reputation for being a hard game, but most of them are challenging and have at least one dungeon that sends gamers running to the nearest FAQ. A Link Between Worlds contains no such dungeons and most Zelda veterans will never see a game over screen when playing it. I do not consider myself an exceptional gamer, but I did not die once while playing this game. In addition to that, I had no trouble finding every heart piece, each of the lost maimais (little squid-crab hybrids hidden around Hyrule and Lorule), or toppling the game’s gauntlet scenario twice. The dungeon puzzles are clever at times, but aren’t likely to leave gamers stumped for any significant length of time. As for the enemies, I think many are made easier this time around because just about all of them can be taken down with the sword. Even some enemies from A Link to the Past, such as those statues with a central eye, that required a certain item to fell can be taken down with the sword. It’s also the type of game that starts off harder than it finishes, mostly because adding hearts remedies any challenging enemies or bosses weak. Most of the bosses also are retreads of past ones, so there’s less trial and error. Also making every item available at the start contributes to an easier game. All of them consume stamina when used, which regenerates over a short period of time, so players can spam the powerful fire rod if they so desire and most enemies are susceptible to the freezing powers of the boomerang and hookshot (and if they aren’t, there’s the ice rod).

Difficulty issues aside, A Link Between Worlds is an enjoyable Zelda title that I was sad to see end. It’s about as long as most handheld Zelda titles. Playing at a very deliberate pace and obtaining all items, chests, and so on, the game lasted exactly 20 hours and 2 minutes for me according to the logs on my 3DS. It was a fairly swift 20 hours with most of the game’s dungeons lasting anywhere from 15 minutes to a half hour at most. A lot of my time was spent roaming Hyrule and Lorule and at least an hour was spent on the Octorok baseball mini-game. Once the game is finished a harder hero mode becomes available. I haven’t tried it, but apparently the only difference between that and the regular game is that enemies do more damage, which should help to make the game at least a little more challenging. If Nintendo set out to eclipse A Link to the Past then it came up short, and from that perspective A Link Between Worlds is a disappointment. As a Zelda game though, it’s great entertainment and something all 3DS owners should pick up.

3 Comments | tags: 3ds, ganon, handheld games, hyrule, link, lorule, nintendo, zelda | posted in Video Games

February 17, 2014

Final Fantasy VII – To Remake, or Not to Remake?

By Joe

In the gaming community, a popular topic of conversation seems to always stem around remakes. They’re fairly popular and have become more so due in large part to the rising price of game development and the profitable business known as nostalgia. Games cost a ton of money these days to develop, and with little change in the pricing structure of games once they hit retail, profit margins aren’t what they used to be. I haven’t seen any hard studies on the matter, but I would assume that publishers make less per game sold today than they did twenty years ago. Just look at the credits for a game developed in 1994 and compare that to a modern game. I recently completed Assassin’s Creed 4 on the PS4 and the end credits ran as long, if not longer, than most films. All of those people have to be paid, so either they’re getting paid peanuts (and many probably are) or the take-home is much smaller than it used to be. Remakes allow developers and publishers to take existing software, sink little resources into the remaking of it, and release it at a comparable price to a new game. Square-Enix is one such company that has made a habit out of this strategy with its Final Fantasy franchise, but one game has yet to be remade in any sort of way despite being arguably the most popular game every put out by Square: Final Fantasy VII.

Whenever remakes are discussed, the potential for a Final Fantasy VII remake coming up is inevitable. Part of that is due to the game’s immense popularity, and part of it is due to the fact that Square-Enix used the game’s likeness to create a Playstation 3 tech demo years ago. Such a strategy was a huge tease to fans of the game seeking a remake. Square-Enix will even bring it up seemingly on an annual basis and offer reasons for why it hasn’t happened while leaving the door open to the possibility just a crack, giving fans legitimate or false hope, depending only on one’s perspective. The supporters for the game are vast in numbers, though there is a contingent that has risen up over the years downplaying the impact of Final Fantasy VII. That’s mostly due to the fact that Final Fantasy VII was the jumping-on point for many fans. Much like when a band gets popular with a specific record, the old fans tend to want to keep a part of that band for themselves and look down upon fans of the newer material. Final Fantasy VII is a great game, and many of its detractors exist just to downplay it in comparison with a prior game, or just never liked Japanese RPGs to begin with.

Many fans feel like Square could do a better job with FFVII if given another shot, mostly because Cloud looks like this in the original game.

Many Final Fantasy games have received either a port or a remake over the years, with the most recent being the HD release of the PS2 games Final Fantasy X and and X-2, set for release next month on the PS3 and Vita. Final Fantasy X is a popular and well-received entry in the series, but for some its remake is a source of frustration considering it’s a more recent release when compared to Final Fantasy VII, so why is it getting an HD release first? Well, as most can probably deduce, it comes down to money. Being a PS2 game, Final Fantasy X can be upscaled to HD and touched up here and there with minimal effort, and more importantly, minimal cost. The game will still look old, but still mostly pleasing to the eye. Playstation 2 games as a whole have aged pretty well. Early generation Playstation One games on the other hand, have not. An HD version of FFVII would likely not improve the look of the title any, and may even harm it. Even when it was released, FFVII was not considered a tour de force when it came to graphics. Certain aspects of the game were praised, such as the FMV summons and cut scenes, but the general look of the game was mostly just passable with its blocky characters and pre-rendered backgrounds. For a re-make, FFVII would require a new game engine and would need to be recreated from the ground up. Square-Enix could use an existing engine and could probably farm a lot of the textures and models needed from other games, but the cost would be considerable making it more like a brand new game in terms of production, as opposed to a remake.

As a result, none of the Playstation-era Final Fantasy games have received a make-over since release. Final Fantasy VIII isn’t looked on fondly, so that fact makes it unlikely for re-release, but Final Fantasy IX was mostly well-received by fans and critics and that too has not been re-done. As a later era title, an HD remake would suit the game far more than one would for Final Fantasy VII. If anything, it’s surprising none of these titles were ported to the PSP, but availability on the Playstation Network has made it so that they can be purchased and downloaded to Sony’s portables, as well as the PS3, and enjoyed as they were originally released.

If Square-Enix is growing tired of this topic, it only has itself to blame after inviting this kind of attention with a PS3 tech demo of FFVII.

The lack of a physical re-release for Final Fantasy VII likely irritates fans almost as much as the lack of a re-make, and that’s mostly due to the fact that so many other titles have been released in its place. The NES era games have all been re-released, and in some cases, remade all together. The SNES games have also all been re-released or remade on other platforms, most notably Final Fantasy IV which has been re-released multiple times and also completely redone for the PSP. A sequel was also commissioned and released in installments before being released as a physical game. If supporters for a FFVII re-make are looking for companions in misery, they at least can turn to the group looking for a Final Fantasy VI re-make. Final Fantasy VI and VII are often considered the best in the series. I blogged years back on the subject and selected VII as my favorite, but in truth my opinion changes with the wind. FFVI has had the benefit of re-release on the Gameboy Advance and Playstation, but outside of those two it really hasn’t been touched much. Working against both games is their reputation as all-time greats, which probably does intimidate, to some degree, Square-Enix as they know any attempt at a reimagining for both games will be held to considerably high standards. Square-Enix likely could have remade VI instead of IV with the Final Fantasy III engine crafted for the DS, but maybe felt like fans would be less willing to accept a half-way attempt at a remake of such a beloved game.

Whichever game you would prefer to see remade, it’s undeniable that supporters for a Final Fantasy VII remake have been teased far more than those holding out hope for a VI remake. Square-Enix, and the gaming press, have kept the topic alive over the years and I sense that fans are starting to tire of it. Most seem to have the attitude of “just announce a final decision already or don’t talk about it at all.” I suppose I share that sentiment, as I don’t care to read about Square-Enix or one of its producers musing on the subject and offering no substance. Part of the reason why the subject seems to be coming up more and more is due to the fact that a lot of gamers aren’t satisfied with the current Final Fantasy XIII themed games. Ultimately, the question is simply should Square-Enix take the time (and money) to re-make Final Fantasy VII?

There may never be a remake, by the film sequel Advent Children did offer fans a glimpse of what their favorite characters might look like in a modern game.

In short, the answer is “Yes.” Square-Enix could approach a remake in two ways: build it form the ground up, or just attempt a better looking game from the original. The ground-up approach wouldn’t necessarily mean a brand new engine. Square-Enix could opt to use the same engine currently in use for Final Fantasy XV which is being developed for the Playstation 4 and Xbox One. They’re also developing numerous other “next-gen” games they could utilize. Going in the other, less-ambitious, direction, Square-Enix could opt for a remake more on par with the Final Fantasy IV ones, which aimed to improve the look of the original but not up to current home console standards. That engine was crafted for the old portables and obviously would not be suitable for a FFVII remake now, but Square-Enix could use the FFXIII engine, or if aiming to be even less ambitious, a PS2 era engine. Upgrading FFVII to resemble a game like FFXII would be a huge improvement over the original and something fans may even accept if released for a modest price.

Considering how big the game is and how beloved by its fan-base it’s become, Square-Enix probably feels like a Final Fantasy VII remake can’t be done on a conservative scale. This is likely the biggest obstacle standing in its way. That means if Square-Enix decided to green-light the project today, it would have to do so as a PS4/Xbox One game for retail release at the standard price of $60. In addition to re-crafting the look of the game, Square-Enix would also be faced with the decision of whether or not to dub the game. When FFVII was originally released, the characters didn’t speak and would not do so until FFX. A sequel movie for FFVII was made a few years back, so Square-Enix has already given a voice to the main characters, but it’s still a large undertaking to dub an old game for multiple audiences. Such an undertaking means Square-Enix is basically faced with the choice of remaking FFVII or making a new game such as a potential FFXVI. Square-Enix’s strategy with the previous generation of consoles was to make a new game, FFXIII, and then reuse the resources to create multiple sequels. Square-Enix never used to make direct sequels to its Final Fantasy games but I suspect it started to because of the rising cost of game development. A sequel to FFXIII was a lot cheaper to make than a brand new game, primarily because development time was shortened with gameplay mechanics that could just be carried over as well as textures and character models. I would propose this time around, Square-Enix opt to not make a direct sequel to FFXV and instead remake VII. XV already started off as Final Fantasy Versus XIII, a would-be spin-off/sequel for the original FFXIII that never made it out of development Hell. It’s likely not going to happen, but if FFVII is ever to be remade then this seems like the now or never point.

Even if a remake never happens, at least we’ll always have the original to fall back on.

At the end of the day, I find myself asking do we even need a remake for Final Fantasy VII? It’s only being discussed as much and as often as it is because it was such a well-received game in the first place. If it’s already a classic, does it need a new version? After all, nobody is asking for remakes to Casablanca or The Wizard of Oz even though technology has advanced monumentally since those films came out. I would argue it is different with video games as opposed to film. Classic films are restored and re-released on new formats all the time, Final Fantasy VII hasn’t even received that much attention. The game is somewhat crude looking by today’s standards, more so than even the game that preceded it. The sprites of Final Fantasy VI have aged much better than the polygons of Final Fantasy VII, and a fresh take on the game could make the world even more expansive than before (just go ahead and look at the world map of FFVII, there isn’t much going on that makes it feel “alive”). Fans want a remake because they honestly believe the game can be improved, which isn’t something you hear when discussing remakes for famous films. It feels like it’s worth doing because it is, and there’s little question a remake will sell extremely well for Square-Enix, and that’s the biggest reason why fans are still holding out hope.

3 Comments | tags: cloud, final fantasy, jrpg, playstation, remakes, square-enix, squaresoft | posted in Video Games

January 29, 2014

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

By Joe

I normally only write about old games, but sometimes a game comes along that evokes the spirit of the games of yesterday and I feel compelled to write about it. It doesn’t hurt that said game is a collaborative effort between developer Level-5 and the great animation super power Studio Ghibli. I am, of course, speaking of Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, a role-playing game for the Playstation 3 that came out nearly a year ago in the US. Translated literally as Second Country, Ni no Kuni is a Japanese RPG that borrows heavily from the games of old such as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, with a touch of Pokémon for good measure. The game tasks the player with guiding the main character Oliver into a parallel world on a quest to not only save that world from an evil wizard, but also save his mother. There’s swords and sorcery, dungeons and dragons, and all of the familiar tropes of the genre. It’s a fun trip down memory lane for those of us old enough to remember when seemingly every RPG followed the same path, but there is enough infusion of modern elements to give the game a fresh feeling. Top it off with the unparalleled presentation afforded by Ghibli, and Ni no Kuni is easily one of the top games of 2013.

Ni no Kuni, at its core, is a story about a boy and his love for his mother. Aww!

The plot for Ni no Kuni is, like its gameplay, a mixture of traditional and non-traditional. The main character, a kid named Oliver, is the typical unlikely hero destined to save the world from evil. The non-traditional part is how the story begins with Oliver being rescued from an innocent mishap with a go-kart by his mother, who tragically loses her life in the process. It’s a seemingly ordinary piece of tragedy and it plunges the main character into depression, something not many video games are willing to deal with. Much of the story centers around depression, or similar emotions, and Oliver is beckoned to help heal their broken hearts while healing his own in the process. Not long after Oliver becomes withdrawn, his stuffed animal Mr. Drippy soon comes to life as Drippy, High Lord of the Fairies, and he takes Oliver to a parallel world to not only save his mother, but save Drippy’s world from the evil dark djinn Shadar. Oliver’s world, a 1950’s looking America, and Drippy’s share an unseen bond in that people in one world are linked to people in the other by their spirit. Oliver’s mom in this other world was a powerful sage, and by defeating Shadar, Oliver hopes to uncover what happened to his mother’s spirit-sister and hopefully save his mom in the process. The story unfolds over roughly 50 hours of gameplay with Oliver becoming a wizard himself and visiting every corner of this other world making friends and toppling enemies while uncovering the mysteries of the past. It’s very rewarding, and I was quite happy with how the major parts of the story resolved itself, though a lot of the plot is resolved before the game’s final act which made the last parts of the game less impactful. It’s a minor complaint, but the story could have been tied together a little better.

The environments are some of the most breath-taking every displayed in a video game.

The thing that will stand out strongest to individuals playing Ni no Kuni for the first time are unquestionably the visuals. This game looks just like a Studio Ghibli film brought to a video game console. When I first heard about the game I was more than a little intrigued as I am a big fan of Ghibli’s films. This game exceeded my lofty expectations and really pushes the artistic merit of gaming. It also pushes the power of the PS3 and it shows. Some textures are slow to populate and there’s definitely numerous instances of pop-in especially on the over world, but this is all easily forgiven considering just how superb the game looks. The color palette is varied though slightly muted which actually adds a great deal of charm and gives the game an old feel. Ghibli opted for near pastel shades over more striking primary colors in many places, but where they go bright it really shows. The vegetation in several spots really pops and gives the environment a lush quality. The water effects are some of the most natural I’ve ever seen, and the special effects are suitable and effective without being over-the-top. The character designs are mostly kept simple, and in the case of the many creatures, perhaps too simple. The main cast looks great though, and I really liked the look of the White Witch herself and her astral cloak that has a life all its own. Further adding to the presentation is some excellent voice acting by a mostly British cast and a truly wonderful score from the master Joe Hisaishi. Ni no Kuni is easily on my short list of favorite video game scores and it’s absolutely feature film quality.

Battles can feel chaotic at first, but eventually most gamers will find a rhythm.

All of the bells and whistles though would be for naught if the gameplay didn’t stack up, and thankfully it does. Ni no Kuni, as I said earlier, is a mix of old and new concepts for the JRPG genre. Oliver and his companions still have hit points and magic points and get stronger through participating in battles and gaining experience points. As they level up they learn new skills and gain better base stats like strength, dexterity, and so on. The battles take place in “dungeons” and on a world map where enemies are visible and some will attack and some will run away. Where Ni no Kuni tries to incorporate some of the elements of modern JRPGs is with the battle system. It’s not a turn-based battle, making it similar to Final Fantasy XII and Xenoblade. The party is limited to three members during the game, with the player controlling only one at a time. When controlling Oliver or one of his companions, the player is free to move around the battle field and position the character to attack up close or from far away and can switch at any time to one of the other characters. Where Level-5 looks to separate Ni no Kuni from a game like Xenoblade is with the familiar system. Taking a page out of Pokémon, Oliver is able to capture the monsters he encounters and use them as familiars. These familiars basically do the fighting for Oliver, and each character can enter battle with up to three familiars. These familiars share hit points and mana with their human overlords, but level-up independently and are able to evolve at certain points. Each familiar can evolve twice, with the second evolution presenting a choice for the player to make which usually takes on the form of picking a water type vs a fire type evolution or something similar. The familiars interject some variety to the mix and helps to keep the playing experience unique for each individual who picks up the game. Level-5 also did a good job of making several viable familiars lessening the occurrence of over-powered creatures likely to dominate every gamer’s party.

Complementing the impressive game engine are some wonderful pieces of traditional animation from Studio Ghibli.

The battle system has its own quirks that everyone has to get used to, and the choice to go with a live battle system means the A.I. is going to be controlling two of the party’s characters at all times. Naturally, this is less than ideal and Ni no Kuni’s artificial intelligence is pretty limited. Each character can be set to behave a certain way, but there’s still no way to tell the A.I. to forego using mana on weak enemies or to focus on fire spells because the enemy is vulnerable to it over some other elemental property. Often times I found myself using the setting that commands my partners to not use any special abilities, or else they’d blow through all of their mana after just a handful of enemy encounters. There’s also no way to select the tactics when out of battle, which is an oversight that should be corrected in a sequel. Another annoyance for me were the more theatrical attacks. Certain spells and such trigger special animations during battle and these are fine when initiated by the player, but when initiated by the A.I. it becomes annoying because it cancels any commands I had issued which can be deadly if it was a healing item or spell I had pulled up. There’s also the whole taming of new familiars, which definitely could use some tweaking. It’s one thing to make it hard to catch the elite creatures in the game, but just about every familiar is overly difficult to tame and that’s because it’s all predicated on chance. Sometimes when beating an enemy, instead of dying, they’ll get little hearts over their heads prompting the player to initiate a series of commands that will make the creature a new familiar for the party. The chance of most any creature going into this state is usually less than 10%. There are quests in the game that require Oliver to tame certain creatures and these were my most hated tasks due to how random the whole system is. Outside of battle, navigating the world is pretty seamless but there are unpolished aspects. The game doesn’t let you get ahead of it at any time. If you know you have to cast a certain spell on a certain individual or object you can’t just walk up and do it, you have to engage it first so that Drippy can tell Oliver he needs to cast Give Heart or some other spell. The game has a tendency to think everyone playing it is pretty slow, or just stupid, and overly explains how to do certain things. The thing I found most annoying though are these special treasure chests spread all over the world that can only be opened by having one of the characters shoot them. That doesn’t bother me, but the fact that the party has to be standing on a specific spot to do it drove me nuts. The chest could be perfectly visible from where I had Oliver positioned, but because it wasn’t the exact spot the game wanted to be at, I couldn’t interact with the chest. Each one of these chests was a piece of trial and error as I slowly moved Oliver around until an exclamation point popped up over his head.

The game’s many familiars and deploying them properly are often the difference between success and failure for Oliver.

The battle system is not perfect but it’s far from broken and it contains enough depth to remain interesting. It does take getting used to though, which makes Ni no Kuni the rare game where the beginning is more difficult than the end. Especially because early on the player will only have Oliver and one or two familiars at his or her disposal. With such limited options, it basically means most battles will require proper defense to make it through. During battle, a well-timed attack can stop an enemy dead in its tracks. It also can cause a special gold “glim” to appear, which when obtained, triggers an ultimate attack or special move. What the game doesn’t convey properly early on is that well-timed defense is actually a better strategy for getting these glims to appear, and for the first couple of boss fights, these gold glims are tide-turners. Later on in the game Oliver and his familiars will have access to a wide range of spells and abilities capable of striking from a distance making these super moves less important, but early it can be a challenge to topple a boss character. After that though, the game is basically as hard or as easy as the player wants to make it. As is typical of the genre, the world map opens up gradually as the game progresses by giving the player new modes of transportation to utilize, starting with sea and then ultimately air travel. Once the seas open up though, the player can find some tucked-away areas where certain enemies frequent that grant boatloads of experience points. If at any point a player finds the game too hard, they can simply go off and level-grind their way through it. Spend enough time leveling-up, and the game becomes a breeze. Even without doing so, the game is far from difficult. Once the main campaign is bested, some more difficult challenges await but a Ruby Weapon you will not find.

Oliver and his friends are sure to leave an impression on anyone who plays Ni no Kuni and sees the story through to its conclusion.

Ultimately, what separates Ni no Kuni from its peers is the story and presentation. The tale of a heart-broken young boy just trying to save his mother against all odds is touching and sobering. In a world of fantastic creatures and unbelievable happenings, it’s a grounded premise that anyone can relate to. The general presentation for the rest of the game is truly unparalleled. Other games possess greater raw processing power and more detailed texture maps, but as far as artistic presentation goes I’m not sure I’ve enjoyed or been more impressed by any other game’s visuals than Ni no Kuni’s. It’s beautiful, and I often found myself getting lost in the scenery more than once. The battle system took time to grow on me, and there’s no doubt I would have preferred a more traditional turn-based approach, but it does possess its own charms and once I felt comfortable with it the game opened up for me. The game is designed to entertain gamers of all ages, meaning it does have to cater to younger gamers at times. It probably holds your hand too tight, with the same explanation for what the Veil spell does popping up every time it’s cast, but such annoyances are minor quibbles of an otherwise excellent game. The game is a true JRPG, a genre that may finally be making a comeback, which means it has all of the charms and all of the annoyances inherent in the genre. There are tons of fetch-quests to go on, the story unfolds in a strictly linear fashion, and there’s probably way more text in this game than anyone cares to read, but it’s also a grand tale that unfolds in a satisfying manner with lots to see and explore. If this is a genre you’ve always loved, then Ni no Kuni is a game that should not be missed. And if you’re new to it, Ni no Kuni is a great place to start.

Leave a comment | tags: japanese rpg, joe hisaishi, level 5, namco bandai, playstation, studio ghibli | posted in Video Games

January 4, 2014

Fighting the Post-Xmas Blues with the PS4

By Joe

Every year it’s the same. The Christmas decorations and merchandise show up in stores in early October, in homes right around Thanksgiving, and everything is pretty festive come December. Then like a rush, it comes and goes and we all settle in for a cold winter (unless you live in a warm climate, in which case I hate you right now) and wait to do it all over again come the fall. I love Christmas, and I’ve talked about that at length in other posts, and whenever it’s over I get the post-Christmas blues. A friend and I used to refer to December 26th as the most depressing day of the year, because it’s the furthest away from Christmas one can be. My adoration for the holiday is not rooted in the fact that I have to wait another year for gifts. Certainly, that was a big part of it as a child, but as an adult I’ve just come to appreciate the season even more and that special connection I have with it via my childhood. Now I appreciate the lead-in to Christmas more than the actual holiday. I like seeing the specials on television, I enjoy having decorations all over my home (I don’t decorate for any other holiday, though my Danzig/Misfits theme could be considered a Halloween one, if it wasn’t year round), and I even kind of like the stupid songs on the radio and in every store.

Whenever Christmas leaves, though, I get the blues. Each year it seems to be slightly worse. This year it took me a good week to shake it though sitting here and thinking about it brings the ache back. The only way to combat the post-Christmas blues is the same today as it was when I was a kid: with new stuff! Namely, the stuff I received for Christmas. As a kid, this worked pretty damn well and while I was bummed Christmas was over I at least had a ton of new action figures, games, and movies plus no school until after New Year’s. As an adult, the material things are less important and less fun (I typically use Christmas as an opportunity to refresh my wardrobe), but this year I did receive a most excellent present: Playstation 4.

I was actually quite proud of myself for not buying the PS4 when it launched. Part of that was I did kind of expect to receive it as a gift from my bride-to-be, but part of it also was me trying to be more financially responsible. I had a Disney World vacation in September to budget for, plus a wedding in the new year (and the bill for the engagement ring), and an expensive summer to recover from that included a new water heater and central AC condenser. 2013 was an expensive year and I actually did a good job of not buying a bunch of video games and records and such. It still wasn’t easy to resist the call of new hardware though, but I am glad to say the wait was worth it.

A new controller for a new generation.

Getting a new console like the PS4 is less fun than others. Not because it’s inferior or anything, but because it’s so ordinary. With consoles like the Wii and the Wii U, there’s excitement over the new input device but with the PS4 it’s just a more powerful PS3. It’s a modern console and works in a modern function. I did not get the camera, so I can’t talk about how that works, but everything else is pretty much as expected. There’s a new interface that modifies the cross-media bar of the PS3, but not drastically so. It’s nicer to look at and there’s more emphasis placed on the Playstation Network features though not at the expense of the actual game loaded into the system. That, and any downloaded titles and demos, are front and center so jumping right into a game is seamless and easy. The new setup is different enough from the old one that first-time users will have to actually pay attention to what they’re doing, but it soon becomes second nature.

Really, the PS4’s most distinguishing features are it’s physical look and dimensions. The new console is pretty sleek looking and reminds me of the technology from the Mass Effect series. It’s black with about 2/3 of the console having a matte finish, and the remaining third a glossy one. There’s a single stripe that runs through it that glows when the console is on or in standby mode. There’s a couple of USB ports on the front for controller charging, and the only two buttons are almost impossible to see. They’re actually just touch panels, one for power and one for disc ejection, and are placed amongst the stripe running through the console. I couldn’t even find the power button with my eyes the first time I hooked up the console and brushed it accidentally. The console is also quite small and tidy. It’s smaller than basically all of the prior Playstation consoles, save for the PSOne and the PS2 Slim. It’s practically tiny when placed beside my model one PS3 and much smaller than its direct competitor, the Xbox One (it dwarfs the Wii U though). The size is perfect for me as it just barely fits into my entertainment stand beside the Wii U with both laying horizontally. Like the PS2 and 3, the PS4 can be displayed vertically. Sony recommends users buy their stand if opting to do so, though the console seems pretty stable to me without it. The console runs quiet and runs cool as well. I have played it in marathon sessions for five to six hours at a time and it’s only ever warm to the touch, not hot, so it appears to be well ventilated.

The biggest change for the PS4 resides in the controller. The dual shock controller was first introduced by Sony during the PSX era and has received only minimal modifications since. The new dual shock 4 represents the biggest change for the venerable controller, though it still retains its traditional shape. The handles have been elongated and the body of the controller is a touch thicker. The face buttons, including the directional ones, are ever so slightly closer together. The directional buttons feel better, which is great considering the Playstation console has always had the best d-pad, and the analog sticks are now closer to the rest of the controller. The new ridges added to each stick does help keep one’s thumb in place (and makes them basically the same stick as what’s on the Wii), and both still retain button functionality. The handles of the controller have a satisfying grip texture to them, and the R2 and L2 buttons are better shaped for human fingers. The start and select buttons are gone, replaced with an options button and a big touch panel that also acts as a button. It remains to be seen if the touch functionality of this over-sized button will have any worthwhile applications, but it’s there for developers to utilize. The Playstation button has been moved in between the sticks to accommodate this touch pad, and a Share button (for social media integration, if that’s your thing) and speaker have been added. The console also comes with a headset that can be plugged into the underside of the controller. I haven’t used it, but it’s a nice feature to have.

The high seas have never looked better.

The dual shock 4 truly feels like a home run for Sony. It’s an improvement in pretty much every way from the dual shock 3 and its updates are both practical and tasteful (well, maybe not the touch pad but we’ll see). The only negative I have found with it is the battery life. Like the dual shock 3, the dual shock 4 contains a non-removable rechargeable battery. Unlike the PS3, the PS4 can charge controllers when it’s in standby mode. Unlike the dual shock 3, the dual shock 4 cannot be charged by plugging it into a non PS4 device such as a PC or cable box. With the dual shock 3, I could often go days in between charges but with the 4 I find I’m plugging it into the console whenever my gaming is finished for the day. I haven’t ridden it down to nothing yet, but I would estimate the battery only lasts 6-7 hours on a full charge. That’s suitable for one gaming session, though there are some who may not agree, but if I were to forget to plug it into the PS4 when I’m done for the day I’d be regretting it the next time I went to play. Part of this issue will be rectified by getting a second controller (I’m holding out for the colored ones), but it is disappointing to see the battery life so poor. Some users have also complained that the rubber of the analog sticks wares out quickly. I just inspected mine which has logged probably around 30 hours at this point, and the heavily used left stick looks no different from the little used right one. Maybe some people are just getting duds or are really hard on analog sticks.

Thief is looking like it will be my second PS4 game, hopefully it doesn’t disappoint.

The only other fault I currently find with the Playstation 4 right now is a problem all too common, it seems, with new consoles: the games. Now, I should state that I am not a first-person shooter fan. If I was, I’d probably be having a good time with the new Kill Zone game. Since I’m not, I have Assassin’s Creed 4. The Assassin’s Creed series is a popular and well known one published by Ubisoft. I have previously played Assassin’s Creed 2 and enjoyed it, but when it was over I was not itching to play another. AC4, which I am around 25 hours into, is a better game. It’s a good game, it’s just not a “wow” game. It was developed for and is available on the Xbox 360 and PS3, so it’s visuals on the PS4 are not a true representation for what the console can output. It’s a great looking game, just not a great leap over what I’m used to. And like AC2, there are little things about AC4 that bug me. There are too many missions where I’m asked to just follow somebody and eavesdrop on their conversation. AC has always been an action game masquerading as a sneaking one. The sneaking mechanics just aren’t anything special, especially considering that I just finished up Dishonored a few weeks ago, and the enemy AI is downright shoddy when it comes to sneaking around. The fighting is fun, though it can get annoying during big conflicts such as ship-boarding when Edward (the main character) starts attacking the wrong guy. Or when he goes into one of his long kill sequences only to get struck from behind by another enemy. Controlling him out and about the various locales is equal parts fun and frustrating. He can scale almost anything, and often will start climbing something you don’t want him to. Sometimes the game calls for quick decisions and Edward makes the wrong one by jumping to an unintended spot or assassinating the wrong enemy.

Assassin’s Creed 4 may be flawed, but it’s also really fun. It can aggravate me greatly at times, but I’m also hopelessly addicted to it so clearly it’s doing something right. It’s a meaty game too, which is great because nothing else currently available for the console interests me in the least. The next game I have my eye on is Thief, which drops next month so I should be all set. Especially considering I still have last generation games to play including The Last of US, Ni No Kuni, and Skyward Sword (which I received for Christmas in 2011, and have yet to play, which is embarrassing). I’ll be plenty busy the next few months with or without PS4. I look forward to more games though, and the PS4 has made an excellent first impression on me. Hopefully the various developers comes through and the PS4 ends up with a library of games that rivals its predecessors.

2 Comments | tags: assassin's creed, christmas, pirates, playstation, sony, thief, ubisoft | posted in Video Games

November 19, 2013

Ranking the Mario Games – Conclusion

By Joe

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

There’s certainly very little suspense with these kinds of things. Anyone familiar with the Super Mario franchise can figure out at this point which two games are going to top my list, whether people disagree or not is another story. Rather than dive right into these last two games, I think it is important to point out just how many of the games that I’ve talked about could have been number one. Super Mario 64 seems like an easy one to argue in favor of. What the original Super Mario Bros. did for the 2D side-scroller, Super Mario 64 did for the 3D platformer. Only the games to follow in that genre have really done very little to deviate from the Super Mario 64 style of gameplay. Sure the worlds have gotten bigger, and the graphics have certainly improved, but the core mechanics are still mostly in play. Super Mario Galaxy 2 could also be argued as top dog. The inventive gameplay of the Galaxy franchise has a ton of appeal, and Galaxy 2 is bigger and harder than its predecessor. In a world where Mario games seem to be getting easier and easier, it’s nice to know some of the games are trying to hang onto some semblance of difficulty. And of course Super Mario Bros. 3 will always have a claim to best Mario title on the planet. It’s the game that really expanded on the Mario world for the first time giving gamers tons of variety in terms of level design, power-ups, boss fights, and basically every other aspect of the game. Many of the titles today still borrow heavily from Super Mario Bros. 3, and I feel like I could go on for another two-thousand words on the subject and it still wouldn’t feel like enough.

In short, Mario has had a lot of great adventures over the years. As overexposed as he tends to get, it can sometimes be easy to lose sight of just how important the character has been to gaming. A lot of people my age claim to have outgrown Mario, but I don’t think that’s possible. You can’t outgrow fun, just lose touch with it.

2. Super Mario Galaxy (2007, Nintendo Wii)

For the first time ever, Mario gets to spend an entire game in space.

Super Mario Galaxy wasn’t the first title to take Mario into space, but it’s definitely the most memorable. Galaxy is basically the sequel to Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario 64 before it as Nintendo decided Mario’s 3D adventures were ready to continue on the Wii. Many people were curious how the Wii’s motion controls and Mario would meld, as I think many assumed Nintendo would use the game as a way to showcase what the console was capable of. Instead, the developers for the game mostly downplayed the Wii’s motion controls in favor of a fairly traditional scheme. Mario was still controlled via analog stick and he could bounce around just as he could in the two previous 3D games. The only addition for the Wii was a spin attack that could be initiated with a simple flick of the wrist. The Wii remote could also function as a pointer and could fire star bits. These star bits could momentarily stun enemies but it mostly was just a tack-on feature. I assume most forgot the feature even existed while playing.

Where Nintendo sought to distinguish Galaxy from the prior Mario games was to place an emphasis on gravity. Mario would travel from galaxy to galaxy, planet to planet, and encounter all kinds of unique situations. Some levels had Mario sticking to tennis court sized planets that were still large enough to apparently have a gravitational pull. This could lead to some really disorienting experiences with Mario basically upside down or sideways but the game’s camera was so well crafted, and Mario so weighty, that it rarely felt as bad to the player as it looked. I know initially I was skeptical at just how good a game could be that focused so much on trying to disorient the player but Galaxy proved me way wrong. Running and jumping from planet to planet, sometimes within a level, was pure joy. The only comparable experience I can even compare it to are those warm, fuzzy feelings I had when playing Super Mario 64 for the first time. Mario handles so well and the level design is so spectacular that it’s hard to not constantly wonder what’s next while enjoying the present.

I think Donald Duck tried this once. It didn’t go too well for him, from what I recall.

Since this is a Mario game, there are numerous power-ups available to experiment with. Of the new ones, the best and most enjoyable is definitely the bee suit which allows Mario to fly for short bursts. Bee Mario flys just by holding down the A button, but he can ascend for so long before he needs to “recharge.” It’s all pretty quick, but the ability to fly is curbed just enough to keep the player from flying constantly. For more intense flight, there’s a special power star that lets Super Mario impersonate Superman. It only exists in kind of a bonus level, but is fun while it lasts. Some of the new power-ups are duds, like spring Mario who can do nothing but bounce which gets frustrating, and there’s some sequences where Mario has to balance on a giant ball. For the first time in a 3D Mario title, the fire flower makes an appearance as does its opposite, the ice flower. Both are kind of interesting in that they function very much like an invincibility star in that they only bestow Mario with special abilities for a brief period of time. This does lend itself well to some puzzle situations, but it is a little disappointing to not be able to remain as fire Mario until damage is taken.

Mario gets shot out of canons (pipes) quite frequently in this one.

From a technological standpoint, Super Mario Galaxy is a star. The Wii was never considered a powerhouse by any means, but Galaxy looks great. The environments are varied, the color pallet is gorgeous, and many of the enemies dwarf Mario, especially Bowser. The music is high quality as well, composed mostly of orchestral instruments giving it a very “Zelda” feel. The plot for the game is basically the same as always, though the character of Rosalina is introduced which makes things slightly more interesting. The game’s storyline may not be enough to get gamers to keep coming back, but the numerous objectives and hidden stars will. As with Super Mario 64, each level has stars for Mario to collect and after collecting a certain amount challenge stars begin to appear. This is where the game really turns up the difficulty and gives Mario vets a true challenge. It’s probably not as hard as its sequel, but it strikes a very nice balance between challenging and frustrating. That, along with all of the other positives I’ve cited, is why Super Mario Galaxy is the best of the 3D Mario titles to date.

1. Super Mario World (1990, Super Nintendo)

The layout of the world according to Mario.

The mark of a truly special game is one that is inherently fun. There are many games where aspects of them fit this description. Mindlessly rampaging in any of the Grand Theft Auto titles is always a blast, political correctness be damned. When it comes to multi-player, I’m not sure I’ve ever had more fun with a game than I did with Super Bomberman and three of my buddies. Both of those games contain moments of pure joy, but neither is able to achieve that and hold it for the entire duration of the full game. Super Mario World is a game that is non-stop entertainment from start to finish. Expertly crafted level design, colorful visuals, and tweaks to the Mario formula helped introduce a legion of fans to the Super Nintendo making Super Mario World not just the best Mario game, but the best pack-in game of all time.

Super Mario World was not the leap forward for Mario that Super Mario Bros. 3 was. It didn’t have to be as that game was nearly perfect itself. It only needed to improve upon it and give gamers a reason to play Super Mario World other than its inherent “newness.” Obviously, that’s easier said than done as many developers have tried to improve upon a game like Super Mario Bros. 3 and failed. When it came time to create Super Mario World, it would seem Nintendo took a back to basics route when comparing it with its predecessor. Power-ups were de-emphasizd as the game only included two permanent power-ups (aside from the mushroom) for Mario and Luigi: the venerable fire flower and the shiny new super feather. The fire flower worked the same as always, but the feather gave Mario a yellow cape and the ability to fly. Rather than have the cape mimic the raccoon tail, it worked in an entirely different manner. Mario still had to run to take-off, but once airborne Mario zoomed to the top of the screen before dive-bombing back to the ground below. This could double as an attack, but if the player so desired Mario could be made to “parachute” his cape for extended flight. It took some getting used to, but once mastered a player could easily soar Mario over an entire level.

Mario’s dino-buddy Yoshi, was the most talked about addition to the Mario universe.

The other major gameplay addition was Yoshi. Yoshi functioned as a power-up himself, giving Mario not only an extra hit but also giving him a new attack. Atop Yoshi, Mario could direct his dino servant to devour all kinds of enemies. As a bonus, certain turtle shells gave Yoshi special abilities such as fireballs or his own ability to fly. Mario could also use Yoshi to reach higher places or travel over certain terrain. Green Yoshi was the standard, but different colored Yoshi’s existed in the secret Star Road area that had limited power-up potential, but also an exploitable skill (the blue Yoshi, for example, would sprout wings and fly with any turtle shell in his mouth, while green Yoshi could only do so with a blue shell) that had its own advantages.

The storyline for the game was really no different, other than the fact that Mario is on vacation in Dinosaur Land. Mario still has to topple Bowser’s seven children before facing him to save the princess. Where the game stands out is in its scope. Super Mario World is appropriately titled. It may not seem huge compared to today’s games, but at the time it seemed massive. Each world is distinct and varied as well, and they’re full of hidden exits and secret levels. This made Super Mario World both challenging and highly replayable. Some staples of future Mario games were introduced in this one, such as the Ghost House or Wiggler enemy. Furthermore, the game was hard. It eased the player in with the deceptively tame first world but the difficulty increases as the game moves on. There are plenty of scrolling levels, levels with small platforms for Mario to negotiate, and levels requiring some puzzle solving to escape. The boss encounters with the koopalings were also more varied, and the final showdown with Bowser was satisfying as well. And if the main game was too simple for some, the Special Zone provided its own brand of torture with many having their own personal nightmare level among one of them.

Secrets abound in Super Mario World.

Aside from the bells and whistles, Mario also handled better than ever and the score was another strong addition to the Mario universe. The main melody is used throughout, though I was also most fond of the subtle bongo notes introduced whenever Yoshi shows up (a trend that has continued over the years). If the game has short-comings, it’s that there are less mini games when compared with Super Mario Bros. 3. The lack of more power-ups is also a slight mark against the title when holding it up to the others, but it’s the gameplay that matters most. Always. When it comes to Super Mario World, there just isn’t a better Mario game on the planet. Everything that came before it was refined and improved upon to craft the perfect platformer. Nintendo wisely chose to not truly follow-up on the title for well over a decade because it couldn’t be topped. There was nothing left for Mario and Nintendo to prove with this genre. And over twenty years later, Mario still hasn’t appeared in a better game.

Leave a comment | tags: luigi, mario, nintendo, platform games, super nintendo | posted in Video Games

November 3, 2013

Ranking the Mario Games – Part 3

By Joe

Part 1

Part 2

This edition of ranking the Mario games is going to be slightly different than the two previous ones. In trying to summarize each game in my previous posts I tried to keep it to one paragraph, which lead to some really long paragraphs. One paragraph is fine for the lesser Mario outings, but now as I enter the top 5 one paragraph seems like too few, so this post will capture the titles I ranked from position five to three, with one more post to follow for the top two. This way I can elaborate more on each individual title and attempt to give each game the time it deserves. These games are some of the best of the best, and while I feel very strongly about their position in the top five, it’s debatable how each should be ranked amongst each other, but that’s what makes these things so fun.

5. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010, Nintendo Wii)

Yoshi is the major selling point of Super Mario Galaxy 2.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 might be the favorite Mario game for some people, or a lot of people, and with good reason. It falls to position five on my list not for quality but more for redundancy. Super Mario Galaxy felt like a revelation while Galaxy 2 felt like a continuation of that game. In a way, it’s Super Mario Galaxy’s Lost Levels. That’s not to say it was entirely the same, as there are some obvious additions to the formula, just not necessarily worthwhile.

The premise of the Galaxy series of games takes Mario into space aboard a ship that serves as a hub world. From there, Mario enters various levels that play out over a map similar to Super Mario Bros. 3, or more recently, New Super Mario Bros. The levels themselves range in size, and the setup is similar to Super Mario 64 in that the game asks the player to re-play each level to collect stars by beating it in a specific manner. Sometimes replaying the levels opens up larger parts while other times it just tasks Mario with a new objective in the same setting.

As with any new Mario game, new power-ups have been added to differentiate from prior games. For Super Mario Galaxy 2, we have Cloud Mario, Rock Mario, and the Spin Drill. Cloud Mario allows Mario to create cloud platforms to utilize to reach higher areas or cover wider gaps. Rock Mario is basically a wrecking ball that powers through areas and certain pieces of the environment. The Spin Drill isn’t a suit, but an object Mario can grab and use to drill through an entire level, emerging on the other side. All three are kind of neat, but none are exceptional when compared with some of Mario’s other abilities. The ice flower from the first game does not return, nor does the flying star, but Bee Mario is still around as are the other power-ups from Super Mario Galaxy.

Even though the more powerful Wii U console boasts a Mario title of its own, Galaxy 2 remains the best looking Mario game to date.

The other major addition, and the one promoted right on the box, is the return of Yoshi. Yoshi is more advanced than ever in Super Mario Galaxy 2 as he’s more than just a second power-up. His tongue, controlled using the Wii remote’s pointer, can not only consume enemies from afar, but also trigger switches or be used to swing across gaps. He can still flutter jump and give Mario a boast to his jumps, but he also has power-ups of his own that bestow special abilities for a limited time. There are three fruits that do this: a dash fruit, bulb fruit, and blimp fruit. The dash one (actually dash pepper, making it a vegetable, I suppose) lets Yoshi dash at a high speed. While dashing he can run up certain walls and across water. The bulb fruit makes Yoshi glow and shows up primarily in Ghost Houses to illuminate pathways. The blimp fruit is like the P Balloon from Super Mario World, only with the helium effects taking place on Yoshi this time allowing him to float through the air while Mario hangs on for dear life. Of the three, the bulb fruit is the most conventional in that it doesn’t affect how Yoshi handles. The dash pepper makes Yoshi dash almost uncontrollably and it can be a challenge to negotiate the various obstacles in the way. That’s likely the whole point of the thing, but I never found it enjoyable. I also loathed the P Balloon in Super Mario World, mostly thanks to the infamous Tubular special world, so blimp Yoshi does little for me. Controlling Yoshi without the power-ups is infinitely more enjoyable, but few Yoshi levels don’t include a power-up of some sort. And as you can probably guess, Yoshi is only usable in certain levels.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 does score points over its predecessor by being the more challenging of the two. Getting to the final battle with Bowser is a moderate challenge, but the extra levels and special stars can be exceptionally difficult. It tends to be challenging without being overly frustrating, though the hardest level in the game may drive you to break a controller or two. Super Mario Galaxy 2, disappointing power-ups aside, is a marvel of game design that basically gave gamers more of what they wanted. I personally found the original title more enjoyable as it was more new and I found some of the challenges less annoying (though both games contain balance ball levels, the shoe-horned Wii remote feature that most could do without. And Spring Mario). Every fan of the 3D Mario games should have this one in their library though, as should anyone who thinks modern Mario titles are too easy.

4. Super Mario 64 (1996, Nintendo 64)

Running through the early stages of Super Mario 64 was a kind of joy I can’t begin to describe.

If you’re someone who grew up with a Gamecube or Playstation 2 as your first console, then you cannot possibly understand what it was like to play Super Mario 64 for the first time in 1996. It only took a moment for Super Mario 64 to blow you away and convince you that you were playing something special. It arrived at a really interesting time with Nintendo taking a backseat to Sega and Sony in getting its new hardware to market. Sega’s Saturn never set the world on fire due to its hefty price tag and lacking software, but Sony’s Playstation was winning gamers over worldwide with new franchises and old, proving once and for all that a CD-ROM based console could work and work well. Sony had even won Nintendo staples like Final Fantasy, and up till now it seemed like Nintendo was just going to stand and take it. Then the public got a glimpse of the Nintendo 64. Sure it was kind of plain looking and still boasted a cartridge medium, but with promises of 3D Mario and Zelda people were convinced it would succeed and the pre-orders came pouring in.

At this point in my life I felt I had “outgrown” Nintendo and the prospects of playing a new Mario game didn’t excite me in the least bit. My first experience with the console should have been totally unremarkable as it occurred at a Toys “R” Us prior to the system’s launch at a demo kiosk. It couldn’t have lasted more than ten minutes, and was maybe closer to five, but I remember it so well because of how incredible it felt to control Mario in 3D for the first time. There was nothing like that currently available anywhere, and seeing Mario run around such an immersive world was shear joy. The game was inherently fun, and I felt like I could have just run around in that first stage for hours. I remember after playing it I went to the Saturn kiosk and tried the upcoming NiGHTS and frowned at the pixilated visuals. Sony was demoing its Mario adversary, Crash Bandicoot, who’s commercials ended up being more fun than his games. I probably tried to convince myself that Crash was superior, and that Mario was too kiddie, but deep down I knew I had just experienced the future. The game was such an experience that I feel kind of stupid for not ranking it number one, though I know as I write about the games to follow I’ll feel better about my decision.

Bowser was very big, though not exactly frightening.

Years removed and numerous star challenges completed, I can still say that Super Mario 64 is an exceptional game, even if it’s imperfect. Super Mario 64 was the first true attempt at a 3D platformer and it’s still the core of what all the games in the genre still follow, especially future Mario titles. For the first time, Mario could jump, double jump, and triple jump his way to Bowser and free the princess. Familiar foes returned like the goomba and koopa troopa, while new power-ups and locations were unveiled. Super Mario 64 felt unique not just because of the new interface, but by creating its own world. Traditional power-ups like the super mushroom and fire flower were absent from the game with Mario now having a life meter for the first time. Mario could no longer breathe underwater or ride Yoshi or even partner with his brother Luigi. There was more emphasis on exploration and uncovering hidden challenges and levels. Beating a stage once awarded Mario with a star and opened up additional challenges in the level. To proceed further in the game Mario needed to collect a set amount of stars to face Bowser for a final time. And for the first time, Bowser truly towered over Mario. Looking more like a turtle than ever, it was intimidating encountering Bowser and also fairly challenging as the player needed to position Mario behind him in order to grab his tail.

The game was so flashy and new that many seemed to ignore the few areas it fell short, while time has made them more apparent. As was the case with seemingly every 3D title from this era, the camera can be problematic and there will be times where the player is forced into making a leap of faith hoping there’s a platform out of sight. And while controlling Mario in wide open spaces is a breeze, negotiating platforms and narrow ledges is less so, and there’s a reason why Mario hasn’t been able to punch and kick enemies following this game. And other than the wing cap, the power-ups were decidedly un-fun, and no Luigi seems like borderline blasphemy. In short, the Mario titles to follow were clear improvements on the interface enough to overcome nostalgia. Or rather, I should say one title in the 3D Mario universe is clearly superior, though if someone held a gun to my head I might opt for Galaxy 2 over Super Mario 64, but that’s all right. Here, nostalgia counts for something which puts Super Mario 64 at a strong number four on my list.

3. Super Mario Bros. 3 (1990, Nintendo Entertainment System)

The map layout common to many Mario games originated with Super Mario Bros. 3.

It took me a long time to admit to myself that Super Mario Bros. 3 was no longer my preferred Mario game (and no, it’s not number 3 on my list because that number appears in it’s title), which is a testament to just how great it is. I still consider it amongst the most highly anticipated video games of my lifetime. Following the rather odd Super Mario Bros. 2, I think most people were excited about returning to what felt like the more traditional style of Mario games. And knowing Mario was going to be able to fly was the kicker. The game came out in 1988 for the Famicom in Japan, so US gamers had to endure nearly two years of screenshots in Nintendo Power (and a cameo in The Wizard) before getting to play the game, but it was worth the wait.

Super Mario Bros. 3 was the true sequel to Super Mario Bros. and the clearly superior one at that. It was everything the original game was times 100. It looked better, Mario and Luigi felt better (they could now slide down slopes and carry koppa shells), and the worlds of the game were so much more immersive and fun when compared to the original. It felt huge having eight worlds with each map seemingly larger than the one before it. It starts innocently enough with World 1 and its clear path to the castle. Then World 2 stretches to a second screen, while World 3 has Mario sail across the map. World 5 is basically two maps with one hidden from view at the start. The game was always throwing new things at the player, especially when it came to the power-ups.

Super Mario Bros. 3 is remembered for a lot of reasons, but mostly it’s for the power-ups.

Super Mario Bros. 3 can be credited as the game that really took the various power-ups to a new level. It’s still the game I use as a measuring stick when evaluating all of the new and old abilities Mario acquires in his latest games. The super leaf was the major and much hyped new ability which gave Mario a raccoon tail and ears and let him fly. We excused the ridiculousness of the whole thing because, after all, MARIO COULD FUCKING FLY! It blew my little mind that Mario could soar through the air like Superman. It might seem like such a small thing younger gamers today, but it really was unheard of at the time. The first time I laid eyes on Super Mario Bros. 3 it was all I wanted to see, just show me Mario flying so my head could finally wrap itself around the idea. It didn’t just end there, of course. World 3 introduced the frog suit which made swimming fun for the first time. The water levels are kind of that thing we all overlook (except when it comes to the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game), but we all kind of secretly hate them. The frog suit was a needed addition, even if trying to hang onto one through the land-based levels was a chore as Mario could only run in the suit if he was carrying a koopa shell. The tanooki suit in World 5 was a cuter take on the super leaf, but it did allow Mario to turn into a statue and avoid damage, a deceptively useful tool. World 5 was also the world that held the one stage (5-3) everyone remembers for the Kuribo’s Boot, a green boot Mario could steal from the goomba’s in the level and pound his way to victory. The hammer bros. suit was the most sought after though. Found in World 7, it was a more powerful take on the fire flower and most players would hang onto it until the final showdown with Bowser.

Now Bowser really has to contend with a “Super” Mario.

Super Mario Bros. 3 also introduced a lot of enemies that became staples of future titles. The koopa kids made their first appearance as did the boo ghost and variations of the hammer bros. like the boomerang bros. and fire bros. The airships were introduced for the first time and various mini games dotted the maps along with Toad Houses where power-ups could be found. Mario and Luigi could also store power-ups for later use that could be activated from the world map. Fortresses appeared and toppling them were necessary to reach the final fortress in each level. The magic whistles replaced the secret warp zones and acquiring all three was the quickest way to reach the final stage. With no game save feature, they were almost necessary for beating the game as the game was almost too big for on session forcing many gamers to leave their NES on all day to save their spot.

For the most part, Super Mario Bros. 3 is just a really fun game that keeps throwing new things at the player the further into the game they go. It’s scope felt epic back in 1990, and it truly is the ultimate 8-bit Mario title. Really, the only thing the top two games on my list succeed over it is with level design, but even they owe a lot to Super Mario Bros. 3 which really paved the way for all of the Mario games to follow. It’s, simply put, among the greatest games ever made.

1 Comment | tags: bowser, hammer suit, kuribo, luigi, mario, nintendo, playstation, saturn, sega, sony, tanooki, ultra 64, yoshi | posted in Video Games

October 27, 2013

Ranking the Mario Games – Part 2

By Joe

It’s part two of The Nostalgia Spot’s look at Super Mario games. In this section, a couple of under-appreciated titles and a few too recent to benefit from the effects of nostalgia, but I’ll try not to hold that against them. Part one can be found here.

10. Super Mario Bros. 2/Super Mario USA (1988, Nintendo Entertainment System)

Mario throws vegetables now. Accept it!

The American version of Super Mario Bros. 2 has always been the black sheep of the Mario family. It was pretty weird going from the original Super Mario Bros. to this game. There were no fire flowers, no goombas, no koopas, no Bowser or green warp pipes. In their place were shy guys, flying carpets, vases, an egg-shooting bird-dinosaur thing, and Wart. By now, most people know that Super Mario Bros. 2 was so odd compared to the first game because it actually wasn’t a Mario game. Originally released as Doki Doki Panic in Japan, Nintendo re-skinned the characters and added a few Mario-type items to the game for the American audience after Nintendo of America rejected the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2. What most people didn’t know at the time, and what many still don’t realize, is that this Super Mario Bros. 2 is actually the REAL Super Mario Bros. 2! The game that would be released as Doki Doki Panic in Japan actually started off as Super Mario Bros. 2. Mario’s daddy, Shigeru Miyamoto, wanted to really change things up for the sequel with more characters and an emphasis on vertically scrolling levels. A prototype was developed by Kensuke Tanabe, but when the project became too ambitious Nintendo basically got cold feet so they put the brakes on it and went the safe route for the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2. Not wanting to waste the foundation of the game, it was re-dressed for release as Doki Doki Panic. By the time Nintendo of America was clamoring for a different sequel, Nintendo’s development techniques had improved enough to the point that it was comfortable going full speed ahead with this iteration of Super Mario Bros. 2. It was so successful that it would be released in Japan later as Super Mario USA, and today it’s pretty much considered the preferred Super Mario Bros. 2 in all territories. Even knowing that, it’s still a weird game and a lot of the sprites created for Doki Doki Panic were left in which is why there’s no familiar Mario enemies. Instead of jumping on enemies to destroy them, Mario can stand on top of them and lift them up and hurl them as projectiles or do the same with vegetables. The jumping and platforming is just as good as ever, and the soundtrack is beyond catchy. The game looks nice, and the additions of Luigi, Toad, and Princess Toadstool as playable characters added variety. One thing Miyamoto really wanted to get into the game was simultaneous co-op, but that would end up needing another 20 years for refinement. Super Mario Bros. 2 is often overshadowed by the game that followed it, but it was an improvement on the original, albeit unconventional. It’s odd take on the Super Mario franchise is what makes it endearing decades later.

9. Super Mario Sunshine (2002, Gamecube)

Being a plumber is a stinky job.

I must confess, part of my placing Super Mario Sunshine immediately after Super Mario Bros. 2 is because it just seems so appropriate. The games are both great examples of their genre, but both find themselves some-what unloved among the other Mario titles. Super Mario Sunshine was a late arrival on the Gamecube, late in the sense that it wasn’t there for the system’s launch. Mario had been a fixture at every Nintendo system launch of any consequence before, so gamers kind of just assumed he’d always be there. With the Gamecube, Luigi got to bat lead-off for a change with his first solo outing leaving Mario to arrive a year later. Super Mario Sunshine is the sequel to Super Mario 64 and just the second 3D Mario title in the span of six years. 1996-2002 was kind of a dry spell for Mario, but Super Mario Sunshine is another superb outing for the venerable plumber. Unfortunately, Nintendo saw fit to saddle Mario with FLUDD, a water-powered jetpack type of thing that dominates a lot of the gameplay. FLUDD really wasn’t well-received by Mario fans (though reviewers seemed to enjoy it) even though it was a rather fine gameplay addition for the most part. With such an established star as Mario though, fans are often resistant to change. Super Mario Sunshine brought back a lot of the platforming elements of prior games with an emphasis on level exploration. It was well conceived, and using FLUDD as a means of propelling Mario along works quite well. It’s the more mundane actions that become tiresome, such as needing to spray the environment clean incessantly. As the player, you’ll do a lot of just standing around spraying water. There’s also the need to replenish the water supply that’s not much fun. Yoshi did make his return in Sunshine, and Bowser Jr. his official debut. Super Mario Sunshine is a game that’s likely better than most people remember, and is absolutely still worth checking out.

8. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (2009, Nintendo Wii)

New power-ups and co-op play; it’s all you really need to know about New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

New Super Mario Bros. brought the plumbers back to 2D in a way that was commercially very successful, though creatively felt more like a straight nostalgia trip and little else. Which was fine, but I’m not sure what people expected of the franchise going forward, or if it even would be a true franchise. New Super Mario Bros. Wii arrived three years later and for a home console this time, the Nintendo Wii. This is where the franchise really started to leave it’s mark, with more interesting power-ups and better level design. For the first time a Mario game was also able to be played cooperatively with up to four players all at once. This was something Nintendo wanted to do as early as Super Mario Bros. 2, but the technology just wasn’t there. To be fair, it’s not New Super Mario Bros. Wii’s strongest point as only two players of equal skill will be able to find much enjoyment in co-op. Otherwise, it feels more like Sonic the Hedgehog 2 with one player controlling the action and the other frantically trying to keep up. The level design for the Wii game is much better though, after being mostly forgettable on the DS. The added power-ups of the propeller suit and ice flower/penguin suit also add to the experience. The propeller suit especially is one of the more fun power-ups to come along in a Mario game. With a flick of the wrist, the propeller on the player’s head spins sending Mario ever higher on the screen and allowing for a slow descent. Yoshi, again, is back but is limited only to certain stages which is kind of disappointing. The challenge is a bit better than the DS title, though it’s still a pretty easy game for Mario veterans. The final showdown with Bowser is both memorable and, if you’re aiming to collect all of the star coins, pretty tricky as well. The reintroduction of the Koopalings is also a welcome development after the many repetitive boss battles in the first game. New Super Mario Bros. Wii is another fun 2D Mario game, though it falls short of being a truly remarkable.

7. New Super Mario Bros. U (2012, Nintendo Wii U)

For the first time ever, Mario is in HD but the end result won’t knock your socks off.

It should be considered a good thing that the most recent entry in the New Super Mario Bros. franchise is the best. Though that does kind of ignore the fact that the edition released just a few months prior to New Super Mario Bros. U is the worst in the series. The console editions are the stronger games, and they’ve apparently had a little more love during their development cycles. New Super Mario Bros. U also has the distinction of being the first original Mario title to debut alongside new hardware since Super Mario 64 back in 1996. Unfortunately for the Wii U, while New Super Mario Bros. U is a good and enjoyable title it’s not the system-seller that Super Mario 64 was. Sales of the Wii U have been putrid, to put it nicely, so a lot of people still haven’t played this one. Admittedly, when I first played it last year I was feeling a little fatigue after just recently finishing New Super Mario Bros. 2 and it took me awhile to actually play through this one. That’s not the game’s fault, though I suppose it is a short-coming for the title that, despite being in HD, it still looks and plays more or less the same as the previous games. The game borrows conceptually from Super Mario World in how the map is laid out. There are several hidden paths and special levels to uncover throughout the game and each world has its own distinguishing features. They’re also controlled by one of the seven Koopalings once again, with the King of Koopas waiting at Peach’s castle for Mario to arrive and save his princess. All of the power-ups from New Super Mario Bros. Wii return though in a diminished capacity. The main new power-up is the flying squirrel suit, which makes too much sense for a Mario game. With it, Mario can glide and he knifes through the air rather quickly, as opposed to the slow descent of the super cape or tanooki suit. He gets a one-time hop in flight that does bring him to that slow descent we’re used to. He also has the ability to cling to walls, though he can’t move along them (which is what the new cat suit will allow in the upcoming Super Mario 3D World). I was a bit lukewarm on the suit initially, but after extended playing time I’ve actually come to enjoy it quite a bit. It’s different, and probably Mario’s best flying suit since the cape. The best thing I can say about New Super Mario Bros. U though is the difficulty. It’s still exceptionally easy to rack up 99 lives, but the levels in this game will actually force gamers to use those lives. The star coins are also better hidden, and like previous games extra levels are unlocked after defeating Bowser for the first time. If the main game isn’t challenging enough, there are extra challenge levels that are designed to bring about controller-smashing frustration. Lastly, the game also makes use of the Wii U gamepad by allowing it to function as a second screen, meaning you don’t even need your television on to play the game. I’ve said a lot about a game that basically feels like more of the same, but New Super Mario Bros. U is the best side-scrolling Mario game since Super Mario World, so I suppose it deserves all of these words.

6. Super Mario 3D Land (2011, Nintendo 3DS)

Many of the stages in 3D Land exist in a three-dimensional environment but force Mario to a 2D-like path.

Over the years, Mario fans have become divided into two camps: the ones that prefer the 2D side-scrolling games and those that prefer the 3D titles. In truth, most fans like both but there are preferences. In general, those that grew up with the 8-bit NES tend to prefer the games that remind them of the old titles, while those who first experienced Mario via the Nintendo 64 tend to favor the 3D games. For the first time, Nintendo decided to try and please both with a single title: Super Mario 3D Land. This was not just Mario’s first 3D portable adventure, but also his first trek on Nintendo’s new 3DS handheld and Mario was expected to demonstrate the advantages of stereoscopic 3D gaming. I don’t know if Mario was able to sell audiences on that feature, but people in general seemed to love the game and with good reason. The style of the game is basically an open world concept for each stage, but with each level being a small level reminiscent of the old games. Some of these levels force Mario into more of a 2D plane that may allow Mario to hop in and out of the foreground and background. The use of stereoscopic 3D meant a few stages at a high camera angle and some platforms are nearly impossible to negotiate without the 3D effect enabled. For power-ups, the tanooki suit was brought back but in a diminished capacity as Mario could only slow his descent, not fly (the stone form ability from Super Mario Bros. 3 is only available after beating the game once), which was a shame. The boomerang bros. suit was the other hyped addition and it’s a good alternative to the traditional fire flower (and a nice homage to the hammer bros. suit from Super Mario Bros. 3). The layout of the map is as linear as it gets, but completing the game once opens up what amounts to a second game. The first set of stages are fairly painless for Mario veterans, but the bonus worlds are much tougher and contain a good amount of challenge. Mostly, the game works as designed, though I could do without the 3D effects. Mario controls well and the approach allows the developers to pick and choose from the best of Mario’s past and stuff it all into one game. Hopefully Nintendo is able to build off of this game and it ends up being the first game in another successful Mario franchise, the Wii U is banking on it.

2 Comments | tags: 3ds, bowser, luigi, mario, nintendo, peach, shigeru miyamoto, toad, wii, yoshi | posted in Video Games

October 20, 2013

Ranking the Mario Games – Part 1

By Joe

Super Mario, the portly plumber with the black moustache, is not just the mascot for Nintendo but the ambassador for all video games. Gamers are intimately familiar with Mario, his history, forays into pop culture, and of course his games. He was the nameless Jump Man before he was Mario and though early titles like Mario Bros., which introduced brother Luigi, kept true to the plumber occupation it was Super Mario Bros. that helped launch the Nintendo Entertainment System into video game legendary status. Since then, Mario, usually alongside Luigi, has appeared in a great many games in either a starring or supporting role. He’s dabbled in just about every genre save first-person shooter (don’t take that as a suggestion, Nintendo) and has done so successfully, for the most part. He’s been challenged along the way by other would-be mascots and felled them all.

Mario’s games are typically of a high quality, and while some are better than others, there really are no true lemons. These next few posts are going to attempt to distinguish the best from the not best, but in truth, all of the games to follow are still a good time, even today. This list only concerns itself with Mario’s starring platform adventures which began with Super Mario Bros. in 1985 and will continue this fall with Super Mario 3D World. Excluded are two titles which borrowed the Mario name for marketing purposes, namely Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island. I think most would agree those two games are actually the first in new franchises for Wario and Yoshi, respectively. This also excludes those educational Mario titles that popped up on the Super Nintendo, and the few games starring Luigi. I considered excluding Mario’s 3D adventures and relegating them to a separate ranking but decided against it. They’re still Mario titles, and whether the game is a side-scroller or in 3D, they actually manage to play very similarly. Maybe it would just be easier to list the games about to be ranked, so here they are in chronological order of release: Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2/The Lost Levels, Super Mario Bros. 2/Super Mario USA, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario Land, Super Mario World, Super Mario Land 2, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, New Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Galaxy, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Super Mario 3D Land, New Super Mario Bros. 2, New Super Mario Bros. U. That’s 16 Mario titles in total, and if this thing drags on long enough, maybe I’ll do a 17th as a postscript for Super Mario 3D World, though the pile of dust that has collected on my Wii U suggests that won’t be happening. On to the rankings!

16. Super Mario Land (1989, Gameboy)

Different, but similar, Super Mario Land was a worthy first attempt at bringing Mario to the smallest of screens.

Perhaps it’s a bit unfair to immediately pick on the Mario title with the least amount of technological backing, but I’ll reiterate what I said in the intro which is that all of these games are worth playing and remain so. That said, Super Mario Land is basically a scaled-down version of the original Super Mario Bros. for the then recently released Nintendo Gameboy. Nintendo should be commended for actually not just porting Super Mario Bros. and actually giving Super Mario Land its own distinguishing characteristics. Set in Sarasaland, the game puts Mario in an Egyptian inspired setting with tried and true Mario gameplay. There are some noted differences from the console games, in that Mario’s fireballs shoot at an angle and bounce off walls and hearts are used for extra lives while coins function as a currency. There are also some scrolling levels where Mario pilots a spaceship or submarine which help break up the routine. Otherwise, it was a pretty basic platforming-side-scroller. The Gameboy’s display made it a little tough on the eyes, and Mario felt a little loose as a result. Gamers who had this title in 1989 mostly seemed to enjoy it, even though they knew they were getting a somewhat lesser experience than what they had on their home consoles, but considering the Gameboy’s main competition was Tiger handheld games, they were pretty content to have Super Mario Land.

15. Super Mario Bros. 2/The Lost Levels (Nintendo Entertainment System, 1986)

One of the defining characteristics of Super Mario Bros. 2 was the emphasis on making the Luigi experience different from the Mario one.

By now, anyone with an interest in video games is well aware of the story of the “original” Super Mario Bros. 2. It was a Japan only release for a couple of reasons. The main reason was the difficulty which Nintendo of America thought would prove too frustrating for US gamers. Also, Nintendo of America wasn’t very impressed with the title simply because it was too similar to the original Super Mario Bros. For that, we should be thankful as NOA was absolutely right with that stance. Super Mario Bros. 2 would eventually be released as The Lost Levels in the US alongside the other NES Mario titles in the Super Mario All-Stars compilation released on the Super Nintendo. The game basically plays like a set of add-on levels for the original title. The original was such a massive success, that Nintendo of Japan felt it had to strike quick with a sequel. When early attempts at a sequel proved too ambitious (more on that to follow), this game was created in its stead. It’s basically just a harder version of the original, with the addition of poison mushrooms and Luigi being given his own characteristics (higher jumps but slippery feet) to make him play different from Mario for the first time. Needless to say, when the game was eventually released in the US, few American gamers felt like they had really been missing out on anything.

14. Super Mario Bros. (NES, 1985)

Where it all began.

The original, but not still the best, Super Mario Bros. set the standard for all Mario games to follow. These types of lists are always a little tricky because one is forced to weigh present value against past value. My take is always to just judge the games as they are. Perhaps that gives the modern titles a huge advantage but a good game is a good game, regardless of era or graphical horse power. Plus, games should be better today than they were 20 years ago as I’d like to think we’re always moving forward. With that out of the way, it should be said that Super Mario Bros. still holds up today as a fun and challenging game, just one notably simplified. It’s the classic “go right” game and the player is expected to run and bounce along to each stage’s flag pole in an attempt to rescue the princess. The clock actually plays a role in this game, as opposed to the more recent games, and later levels force the player to hold the run button throughout. The game’s challenge is mostly found in negotiating jumps and platforms that become smaller as the game goes along while dodging classic Mario enemies like koopa troopas and Lakitu. It’s true that it may be hard to impress a young gamer today with the original Super Mario Bros., but it is a textbook take on the genre it launched even if its sequels have improved upon it immensely.

13. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (Gameboy, 1992)

New bunny ears and a new villain are the defining characteristics of Super Mario Land 2.

Super Mario Land 2 was a huge improvement over its predecessor. It borrowed heavily from the the current console games in terms of defining Mario’s look and power-ups and pushed the Gameboy to produce one if its best looking and best playing titles. This game also introduced Wario, who served as the primary antagonist for Mario for basically the only time before becoming a playable character in his own line of games. Super Mario Land 2 held onto the first game’s quirks while giving Mario some new power-ups, most notably the bunny ears. Mario being able to fly had been a big deal since Super Mario Bros. 3 so it’s no surprise he was able to do the same in this game. Keeping things weird, as they were with a raccoon tail bestowing flying powers in SMB 3, the bunny ears let Mario fly by rapidly pressing the jump button. Mario didn’t gradually descend, like he did with the cape and tail, so it gave Land 2 a unique feature. The fireballs had their angled shot replaced with traditional fire power, and the game had a map layout like Super Mario World. The worlds the map is segregated into can be played in any order, giving this game a less linear feel, and secrets abound which help the replay factor. Which is a good thing, because the 32 levels will be breezed through by Mario veterans making Super Mario Land 2’s biggest weakness its short duration. This is a fun game though, and it was the first Gameboy experience that came close to matching the console one where Mario titles are concerned.

12. New Super Mario Bros. 2 (Nintendo 3DS, 2012)

I did a big write-up on this one around the time it was released, so I won’t go into too much detail here. Suffice to say, if anything my opinion of the game has lessened since. It’s a fun experience, but in general it did little to nothing as far as advancing the series goes. The focus on coin collection was a mistake as it didn’t add to the experience. The much publicized street pass functionality and downloadable content was basically a dud, and the game’s difficulty was basically non-existant. This is a by-the-numbers Mario game, and its sister-title New Super Mario Bros. U is the far superior game, and not just because it’s on the more powerful console and in HD. I did enjoy the return of the super leaf power-up as well as the inclusion of the Koopa Kids and the game does not have a shortage of levels.

11. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo DS, 2006)

New Super Mario Bros. was a welcome return to the side-scrolling genre for Mario and Luigi.

New Super Mario Bros. was a supremely refreshing title when it was first released in 2006. A new side-scrolling Mario game had not been released since 1992’s Super Mario Land 2, unless you count the Wario and Yoshi games in between. New Super Mario Bros. was a like a kid’s dream of what the original Super Mario Bros. could have been with mega mushroom power-ups and the mini mushroom, letting Mario shrink to a microscopic size. Of the two, the mini mushroom was actually the better as controlling a lightning quick Mario was a lot of fun. Not that it wasn’t fun to control the Godzilla-like Mega Mario, but it got old after a few experiences. Mario also retained some of his 3D controls like the ability to double and triple jump. Not very useful, but a lot of fun. The game is also massive with 80 levels to explore, some of them only unlocked after finding the various star coins hidden in each stage. Like its sequel, the game’s biggest drawback was its lack of challenge. Notably trickier than the follow-up, but still lacking compared with the well-balanced Super Mario Bros. 3 or Super Mario 64. This is a good game though, and as you can probably guess from these rankings, I actually recommend it over New Super Mario Bros. 2 for its tighter gameplay and better level design, though the level design is actually a weakness for the game when compared to other Mario titles. This one was a nice nostalgia trip in 2006, and even though the New Super Mario Bros. franchise has had a hard time living up to the classics, I still think we’re better off for having it.

6 Comments | tags: bowser, gameboy, luigi, mario, miyamoto, mushroom kingdom, nintendo, peach, toad | posted in Video Games

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