Well, things sure are quiet around here, aren't they? In the meantime, let's talk new releases.
I don't know why the Nintendo fan community are harping on for Mario, Metroid, Zelda. Didn't we just get a triple shot of Nintendo's trinity within the past couple years? Considering there has never been more than two "main" entries in any of their franchises for a single console (barring Mario on the NES), I don't know what the rush is.
In any event, I have NOT gotten the opportunity to play Wario Land: Shake It! Word from my friend is "boring and disappointing," and he's a diehard Wario Land defender. Mega Man 9, however, is more polished than I could have hoped (still painfully difficult at first), so if you want an old-school challenge, slap down the 1000 Wii Points right now. And get rid of 200 of those pesky leftover points to download Mega Man's whistling bro, Proto Man. Party like it's 1988!
Or 1996, because upon playing Kirby Super Star Ultra, I have to revise my earlier statement. Owning the original cartridge is NOT an excuse to pass on this game. The new content is better than I could have hoped, especially if you're like me and loved rushing the Arena with various abilities. And the game's extensive Mario cameos have been updated! A golden Mario statue is still one of Kirby's Stone forms, but in Ultra, he can also become a classic brick block! The infamous mirrored crowd of the mini-game Megaton Punch still features a pair of Marios, Luigis, Toads and Birdos. But the crowd in the battle with King Dedede is no longer mirrored and adds Wario and Peach to the spectators. Kirby still collects various Nintendo-themed treasures in the Great Cave Offensive. The Turtle Shell of old is more accurately labeled a Koopa Shell, Kong's Barrel now has the DK logo on it, and the formerly unrelated Zebra Mask has become the Phanto Mask.
Speaking of Mario cameos, one of the most exciting games announced this past week was a brand new Punch-Out!! The NES title featured one of Mario's earliest "random" cameos, as he was the game's highly biased referee (sure, stop the 10-count the instant the opponent begins to twitch, but I have to be standing fully upright to get you to shut up). It is also a highly unique and entertaining game in its own right, surpassing its arcade predecessors and SNES follow-up in gameplay and presentation. The Wii game wisely looks to be taking its inspiration from the NES classic. Hilarious ethnic stereotypes look to be here to stay, with French pushover Glass Joe going down with a spray of croissants and Pacific islander King Hippo's head surrounded by pineapples when he's stunned. Here's hoping for other mainstays like Bald Bull and Vodka Drunkenski (or the even more amusing censored version: Soda Popinski), as well as Mario's return to the referee position.
Okay, enough trying to encourage broadened horizons. Of more direct pertinence to Mario fans is the announcement of the third Mario & Luigi game. Before Galaxy proved to me Nintendo Tokyo has in fact played more Mario games than SMB, 64 and Sunshine, there were only two companies I trusted to really "get" Mario lore. One was Intelligent Systems (maker of PM), and the other was M&L creator Alphadream. While many were disappointed by Partners in Time, I love the game (but then, Yoshi's Island is my favorite game of all time, so PiT's numerous references to it gives it a nostalgic edge), and Alphadream has my full confidence for the third go-round. The most exciting news (to me) is what appears to be a playable Bowser, who utilizes minions both in battle and for puzzle-solving. I trust Alphadream to go beyond Goombas, Koopa Troopas, and Bloopers and put some underappreciated drones to work here. I also hope this gives Bowser a bit more clout, as one of my only problems with the first two games is Bowser's inherent...wimpiness (either as an ally or foe).
I'm not sure where my fellow writers have gone, but stay tuned, Mario fans! Next time you hear from me, we'll have less news-ing and more philosophizing (and maybe some making fun of Super Mario Land).
~Waluigious: There's also about 37 music games on the way, but still no sign of the highly-demanded sequel to Mario Paint.
Monday, October 6, 2008
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5 comments:
In the other hand, I'm liking Wario Land 5 way more than WL4, and I'd better not mention the GC & DS craps.
The final boss is really hard, the ending made me smile and remember when I played WL2, and the missions make the game really lengthy and hard. It's good if you like old-school platformers, actually.
Well, good to hear a differing opinion. I hope to get a chance to play it, but my funds are tight, and $40 for two games (MM9 and KSSU) beat out $50 for one.
Well, truth to be said, that friend of yours is like the only person i have heard who doesn´t like wario land shake. Irespect his opinion (i, don´t like other higlhy praised games, so i won´t blame your friend) but WL shake really IS good. The only downsides are that the shop pretty much becomes useless after buying all maps, save for the reviving potions in case you want to buy some, and the fact that wario transformations are once again pretty much ignored save for fire wario and snowball wario.
But trust me, i have played the game, and while i admit i was highly dissapointed with master of disguise, this time nintendo learned their lesson, and they took the best of Wario Land 4 and Wario World (which, although short, was decent, admit it), plus Syrup´s revival (watch her in the ending, she´s hilarious), and with all those elements mixed plus new interesting stuff, what do you have? wario land shake. Play it sir, you won´t get dissapointed. Oh, and for the hardcore players(like me), the missions are really challenging as went said.
I know you've probably heard this allready, but hey, I'll say it anyway:
Wario Land Shake It is a pretty good game.
Imagine: The good old times of run, bash, flee from WL4, crossed with a Tresure hunting element from MOD, (WITH NO BORING MINIGAMES, THANK GOD.) And the Somewhat confusing yet now normal "Compleat this mission to unlock music!"
And it may not sound like much of a reward, But The game looks and sounds beautiful. The animation is fluid, the characters are ammuzing... Seriously, I can say that for sure.
I'd played the same level part around 30 times to unlock the music, (cause I SUCK.) only to find out it was pointless and I'd missed it. I. WAS. PISSED. Then I went on to the next level, involing spining on some poles. Wario flew off at my comand, Landed and pulled off a pose, With comical bouncing belly and matching "boing!", And suddenly I felt pleased again. A game hasn't done that in that short a time in nearly 7 years, so that's worth something, right?
So, When you do get the money, Give it a try, at least. I think you'll enjoy it after WarioWorld and MOD basicaly pissed in your face.
Wario Land Shake It/The Shake Dimension is a good game, and you'll probably like it. I might as well say both sides of the story though, since it does have positives and negatives in many aspects.
The good parts are the graphics, general level design, boss battles and general game structure. Graphics are literally cartoon quality, and have been nominated for best art style on many review sites. Level design is fairly solid, although in two levels; normal levels have pretty average level design, secret levels have fantastic, generally deep level design. To add to that, I mean that basically, many normal levels seem slightly shorter than Wario Land 4 ones, and secret levels seem as good or better than Wario Land 4 ones. Game structure is good in general, you unlock the music for one thing. Boss battles are awesome, best in the Mario series I'd say. Why? They're epic. Master of Disguise had great boss music but awful battles, while here the music is slightly more cartoon style but the bosses themselves are both excellent fun to fight and actually rather challenging.
Downsides are the music, which is good, but in some cases not great, with some forgettable pieces. Level variety could be a lot better, the levels are more standard platform themed and generic to the world design. Basically, don't expect Wario Land 4's every level is completely different level of variety, the secret levels often share normal level gimmicks and the levels are a tad more 'realistic' and less 'wacky' than in the fourth game.
Oh, and transformations are rather downsized. Wario can still be set on fire, frozen or turned in a snowman, and the former and latter have puzzle uses, but you've sadly got no Flat/Vampire/Zombie/Puffy/Spring or Fat Wario powers.
Yeah, it's a good game, although it's very, very similar to Wario Land 4, which may or may not be a good thing. Certainly better than World or Master of Disguise.
Oh, and Punch Out? You'll like the final opponent, it's a lot better than Mario as referee could ever be... Warning, spoilers, although probably not still relevant...
It's literally Donkey Kong as an opponent boxer. DK Universe/Vine went crazy in happiness about this.
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