Here’s a Podcast – Episode 109! (Star Tropics)
Posted on 9 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features, Podcast | 8 Comments
Podcast Crew: Austin (Twitter), Jack (Twitter), Laura (Twitter)
Welcome to episode 106 I mean episode 109. How are you? I’m okay. I hope you’re okay too. Here’s an overview of what we’ll be talking about on this episode:
Segment 1, Intro: Star Tropics makes its first appearance on this podcast, and we discuss some cool tidbits about its development and how it’s similar to Metal Gear Solid in a certain respect.
Segment 2, What We Played: Austin gives his impressions of the New 3DS XL, Laura waxes poetic and tells a story from her time with Majora’s Mask 3D, and Jack updates us on chemistry, computer science, and other collegiate affairs.
Segment 3, Book Club: Our next week of the A Link to the Past book club creates a rift that eventually morphs into a learning experience for everyone involved! Jack likes the Dark Palace and dislikes the Swamp Palace, but Laura and Austin think the opposite! Some interesting notes about Zelda temple design in this segment.
Segment 4, Listener Mail: Listener mails brings about a particularly interesting topic this week: Are 2D Zelda games really just gimped versions of 3D Zelda games? Are they just a stopgap between the “real” Zelda games? We don’t go quite as in-depth as I’d like to someday, but it’s a fascinating idea.
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Zelda on Wii U has “as large of a world as can be realized”, Eiji Aonuma says
Posted on 9 years ago by Dennis Gagliardotto(@LyonHart_) in Interviews, News, Wii U | 23 Comments
Recently speaking with Gamereactor Magazine, Eiji Aonuma delved a bit into the sheer mass of the newest installment of Zelda currently in development for Wii U:
A huge, seamlessly unfolding world is something that can’t be achieved if the hardware isn’t advanced enough. Ever since we made the very first generation of Legend of Zelda games though, we’ve had as large a world as can be realised with the hardware, so you could say it was inevitable that we’ve now done the same with the new Wii U title.
When I first showed off the new Zelda game on the Wii U, it seemed everyone was very excited and started proclaiming that a Zelda game had at last become open world! Zelda games have always allowed you to roam and explore a huge world.
What’s changed now is that the hardware has progressed to the point that you can now explore this vast world seamlessly; the underpinning of the game hasn’t changed.
Continuing with the interview, Aonuma also talks a little bit about the implementation of the Wii U Gamepad:
Recently, I’ve taken to relying on the map on my smart phone when I’m out walking in a place I’m not familiar with. A map isn’t something you keep tucked away in your bag, it’s by holding it in your hand and being able to constantly check it as you move forward step by step that gives you that sense of adventure.
You can read the rest of the interview in the new issue of Gamereactor Magazine, which is out today.
Zelda on Wii U is expected to come out sometime in 2015.
More: Eiji Aonuma, Legend of Zelda Wii U
[Feature] Tingle: The Man Behind the Magic
Posted on 9 years ago by Patrick(@Patricklous) in 3DS, 3DS eShop, Features, GameCube, New Nintendo 3DS, Random | 4 Comments
If you ask someone what the most striking and memorable thing about The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask is, they’d probably answer with the whole three-day cycle gimmick, Link’s many transformations or the creepy moon. But if you held a gun to their head and whispered “it’s Tingle” into their ear, they’d undoubtedly say it was this charming fellow. The life and legacy of Tingle isn’t extensively documented and leaves many unexplored questions. Is he human? Is he a fairy? Is he an offensive gay stereotype? But despite his mysterious nature, Tingle is a crucial character to the development of the Legend of Zelda series. In fact, there are no less than four different games out there with Tingle’s name in the title, which makes him just as important to the franchise as Link, whose name usually only appears as part of a lame pun. Just as the tale of the Hero of Time and the Triforce is constantly being retold, so too is the story of this unsung legend.
Survey – The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Book Club, PART 3
Posted on 9 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Book Club, Features | 0 comments
Most of you don’t listen to our podcast, but if you did, you would know that we’ll be restarting the podcast-tied “Book Club” again all about the video game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. If you’ve never heard of or participated in a book club, it’s pretty much what it sounds like: We all play a game at sort of the same pace, and every week we discuss in detail that week’s goings on in the game on “Here’s a Podcast”.
You can share your thoughts on the second part of the game using the Google Form below, or feel free to post a comment. Remember, we aren’t looking for general thoughts on the game– we want thoughts about this particular section of the game! Play along with us, or go based on memory, but we like depth because we love games. Hooray!
We’ll select a few of your guys’ thoughts to read on the podcast and help spur further discussion, so leave a name and location if you like.
For this week: From getting the Master Sword, through the second Dark World temple. I think it’s the water place.
Tell us your thoughts with this easy and handy form!
~Austin
GAME OF THE MONTH – The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
Posted on 9 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features, Game of the Month | 0 comments
The clock has progressed beyond the point of midnight where I live, and as far as I’m concerned that means it’s The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D release day! We have a special way of celebrating game releases on NintendoEverything, and this month is no different. That’s right, February’s Game of the Month is going to be Majora’s Mask itself in all its oddities and wisdom and enjoyability and all of that other stuff. It’s an excellent game, and I hope you want to learn a lot about it that you didn’t know before; that’s what Game of the Month is for.
This month’s article schedule:
“More than you ever wanted to know about Tingle,” from Patrick on February 14th.
“Termina’s Landmarks,” from Scott on February 21st
“Untitled,” from Vincent on February 22nd
“Do we want more Zelda remakes? Will we get more?,” from Kira on February 28th
As usual, if you have an article you’d like to write about Majora’s Mask this month, please use the contact form to send us an email with your idea and if we like we’ll get back to you. How can you not love this game? It’s the best. Best Zelda game. Best game. Best thing. I love it.
~Austin
[Review] Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (3DS)
Posted on 9 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features, Reviews | 12 Comments
“Of course, I thanked my friend. Manners are the finest dessert, as we in Yukuko say.”
System: Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: February 13th, 2015
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Author: Austin
Monster Hunter, from outside the cult of its supporters, looks awfully intimidating doesn’t it? Just the phrases that come to mind when people bring it up– “gear grind”, “brutally difficult”, “extremely inaccessible”, “clunky”, “time sink”– don’t exactly do the series any favors in the eyes of newcomers, so it hardly comes as a revelation that the appeal of its extremely nuanced and strategic real-time combat system has remained limited outside of Japan. Something about that country seems to give them a higher tolerance for this sort of thing.
Nevertheless, Capcom seems to be enchanted with the idea of Monster Hunter’s ubiquity in the west, and so we’ve arrived on the doorstep of Monster Hunter 4’s release on 3DS.
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Perhaps the most important thing to understand about Monster Hunter 4 up front is that it exists unapologetically; it’s easy to feel some sort of fundamental inspiration driving all of this game’s decisions. From the clunky (though, the word “nuanced” truly does fit it more appropriately) controls in combat to the feline-laced aesthetic, this game knows what it wants to be and it does not sully itself with watered-down mechanics or simplify itself for the sake of more instant appeal. It’s not for everyone, and it doesn’t try to be.
That being said: Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is easily as approachable as this idea has ever been.
More: 3DS, highlight, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, review
Here’s a Podcast – Episode 108! (NES Play Action Football)
Posted on 9 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features, Podcast | 6 Comments
Podcast Crew: Austin (Twitter), Jack (Twitter), Laura (Twitter)
Welcome to episode 106 I mean episode 108. How are you? I’m okay. I hope you’re okay too. Here’s an overview of what we’ll be talking about on this episode:
Segment 1, Intro: Our game of the week is the Tose-developed NES Play Action Football. We learn about Tose’s development philosophy, why this game came with a little slip of cardboard, and how it’s connected to Shrek: Hassle at the Castle for GBA.
Segment 2, What We Played: Two big games in what we played this week. Firstly, Austin has his review copy of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate and he has some really interesting observations about how the game actually teaches you this time around, in addition to general impressions. Laura this week has been playing something of an oddity: Mario Golf: World Tour, the 3DS golf game from last year that nobody would’ve predicted Laura would love. But she does!
Segment 3, Book Club: This week’s A Link to the Past exposé has us getting into discussing the start contrast between the second and third temples of the game, how we all learned to pick up large boulders, and why getting the master sword in this one is actually somewhat different from more recent Zeldas.
Segment 4, Listener Mail: Just a bit of mail this week (we didn’t have much time after the book club), but we tackle a couple of key topics: Where is Nintendo going after Miyamoto and company pass on from the company (or life, I guess)? What are some of your favorite local multiplayer games? Find out.
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Here’s a Podcast – Episode 107! (Barker Bill’s Trick Shooting)
Posted on 9 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features, Podcast | 2 Comments
Podcast Crew: Austin (Twitter), Jack (Twitter), Laura (Twitter)
Welcome to episode 106 I mean episode 107. How are you? I’m okay. I hope you’re okay too. Here’s an overview of what we’ll be talking about on this episode:
Segment 1, What We Played: Austin fell asleep one nigh and woke up the next day with a demo of The Amazing Spiderman downloaded onto his 3DS. Hear from him why that game is probably not worth your time or money, but it’s still kind of hilarious regardless. Secondly, Laura has played the demo for Codename S.T.E.A.M. and she talks about how it plays, what’s weird about it, and what might need a bit of fixing.
Segment 2, Listener Mail: Before listener mail, Jack regals us with tales from his job, as he has been known to do. Then we get into questions about Mario Kart 8 (in response to last week’s show), aspect ratios and Wii VC games, and what games we would like to be able to forget so that we can replay them.
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[Podcast] The Best Soundtracks of 2014
Posted on 9 years ago by Patrick(@Patricklous) in 3DS, 3DS eShop, Features, News, Podcast, Reader Poll, Reader Poll, Wii U, Wii U eShop | 2 Comments
Hello everyone, here’s another podcast! All of your votes have been tallied on to put together the definitive list of the top ten game soundtracks (on Nintendo platforms) from 2014. In this almost two-hour podcast you can expect to hear excerpts from all of the soundtracks that made the list with commentary from myself and those who sent in their thoughts. Thank you to everyone who helped make this feature possible and sorry about the delay.
Unlike last year’s show, it’s now available in video podcast form on Youtube (note: podcast may not contain moving images):
If you want the audio version to stick on your MP3 player or whatever, you can download it here. And if you really want to spoil yourself, the results and and a full track list (with timestamps!) can be found over the break:
[Interview] The Return of IronFall Invasion! VD-Dev on New 3DS, campaign, multiplayer, and more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, Interviews, New Nintendo 3DS | 37 Comments
We’ve been keeping close track of IronFall Invasion since its reveal last year. The game finally resurfaced during this month’s Nintendo Direct, and VD-Dev confirmed that its debut 3DS eShop project will be launching soon.
Since IronFall Invasion is just on the horizon, we thought we’d catch up with the studio’s Fernando Velez one final time. Velez shed more light on the game’s campaign, multiplayer, and much more.
Check out our full interview below!
