Posted on 11 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features, General Nintendo, Wii U | 0 comments

The simple thing Nintendo did to effectively hold “New” Super Mario Bros. back from ever reaching super stardom.

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Right this very moment, my Wii is sitting in my basement, power on, Super Mario World loaded onto the screen, waiting to be played again whenever I muster the strength to give Forest of Illusion another shot. You see, I’m stuck in the (what I assume to be) infamous area where you cannot go on without uncovering some secret and opening up the next level, crafting your way through the trees and onto the next castle. Please don’t tell me how to do it.

In my break, though, I’ve been pondering quite strongly the differences between this Super Nintendo classic I’m plowing through for the first time and the round of 2D Mario games we’ve seen plop out of Nintendo’s money machine over the last six years. Upon first glance, there’s really not much that stands out as being truly different aside from the graphical downgrade seen in the three entries to the New Super Mario Bros. series that have been released so far, and yet something feels indistinguishably different.

Chalk it up to “atmosphere” if you’d like, chalk it up to music or “heart” or anything else truly intangible– and I’d certainly be hard pressed to disagree with you– but I think the big difference between the two “chunks” of Mario’s 2D history can be boiled down to how memorable it is.

And, well, how memorable it is can be boiled down to how much time you spend with each level.

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Posted on 11 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features, Podcast | 0 comments

Download the Podcast Here

Like I said, two podcasts this week for Wii U stuff. This episode deals with more or less the reactions to the Wii U from outside sources. I get to inform Jack and Laura about everything, get a little angry about IGN comments (like the feature I wrote), and even have a moment of catharsis about whether or not the Wii U is worth the price! Check it all out and stuff.

This Week’s Discussion: “Four Message Board Reasons Why Not To Buy Wii U”

This Week’s “Guess What the Game is About With the Media I Give You”: Image here, if you want to play along.

This Week’s “Top Ten List”: Guess How Many New Powerups Were In Various Mario Games!

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Interviews, News, Wii U | 0 comments

Some of the Wii owners out there may remember Broken Rules for its creative and stylish WiiWare title, And Yet It Moves. Fortunately, the studio is back with a brand new game, this time for Wii U: Chasing Auoura.

We recently caught up with Broken Rules’ Martin Pichlmair to find out more about the upcoming eShop game. Pichlmair was able to discuss the origins of the project, confirmed Off-TV Play, hinted at a possible sequel for Wii U, and more.

Aside from Chasing Aurora and Wii U, Pichlmair commented on why Broken Rules has focused on 2D games, commented on piracy, and even explained how the studio picked the URL for its website!

Head past the break for the interview.

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Posted on 11 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features, Wii U | 0 comments

It’s Saturday, which means news is mostly pretty slow! Instead of refreshing the page every fifteen minutes, why not join the forums and take part in a discussion I’m having about the Wii U and stupid things people have said about it? It’s free and maybe even fun!

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Oh me oh my I am supremely upset today. Not about anything substantial, or even about anything that I’d normally get upset over, but simply due to trolls and commenters spewing their nonsense across the vast web of interconnected computers that we call the “Intrawebz”. Instead of brushing this stuff off like I normally do, however, I’d like to take the time to address many of the concerns I’ve read. Some of them semi-valid, most of them absurd, and all of the responses surely filled with far too much distress.

That’s okay though, because every once in a while it is okay to let yourself be angry about silly things. For me, that time is right now. Hit the break to see various arguments against the Wii U, as well as a response to each one designed for maximum catharsis.

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Posted on 11 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features, Podcast | 0 comments

Posted on 11 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in 3DS, Features, Reviews | 0 comments

Platforming Fans: You have a new game to buy. I’m not kidding either.

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MegaMan 2 was a game I grew up on. I never beat it as a kid- it would be ten years until that accomplishment- but I played it more than any other NES title I owned, plowing through the harrowing platforming puzzles, dodging beams of light on FlashMan’s stage, and cursing (as good as any 6 year old could, anyhow) at the frustrating spikes scattered about BubbleMan’s underwater fortress. By age 8 I had beaten every robot master thirty times over, and though I never defeated Wily himself, I got as close as anyone else my age.

I was- and still consider myself to be- a very skilled platformer.

It is with great consideration, then, that I concede (temporary) defeat in front of the latest game I have had the pleasure of reviewing. That game is ‘Fractured Soul’, a dual-screen platformer from the makers of nothing you’ve likely heard of. If you want to know more about the developer, you can read my interview with them here. If you want to know more about my concession to ‘Fractured Soul’?

Simply hit the break and I’ll tell you all about it.

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Posted on 11 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in 3DS, Features, Interviews | 0 comments

The ‘Fractured Soul’ developer talks the development process, frustrations with protecting ideas, and why you should buy their game.

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I hope you guys like interviews (I sure do!), because you’ll be seeing a lot more of them over the coming months. Lined up we have 5th Cell, Junction Point, Broken Rules, and WayForward (tentative), and over the past few months we’ve dealt with n-Space, Renegade Kid’s Jools Watsham, and some writers from Cracked.com (horrible, horrible interview).

Recently I’ve conducted interviews via lists, weird fan-fiction write ups, and as straightforward Q&As. This time I think it’s certifiably appropriate to hit it from the IGN angle: Straightforward Q&A with some splashy fluff and awkward text-ifyings of emotional responses.

Ha ha ha.

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So what’s in store for today? It’s time to get to know the guys behind 3DS’s potential next great platformer, Endgame Studios! A relatively new name to the development scene, they’ve been doing licensed games and dev-for-hire stuff since 2003, but they didn’t foray into independent game design in a serious way until 2005/2006, when the early early concept for ‘Fractured Soul’ came to be. It’s been a long development cycle, but we’re finally nearing its September 13th release date and many people are looking for a reason to pick it up.

So I started with that.

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Posted on 11 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features, Podcast | 0 comments

Right click, “Save As” to download.

I am so tired of wrestling with blogger and tumblr and feedburner and iTunes and archive and all these stupid websites to try and make the feed subscribe-able. I’ll get it going later but I’ve been at it for nearly ten hours and nothing seems to function properly, so for now you just have to download it the old-fashioned way. Apologies to you guys who asked for a feed to subscribe to! Maybe next week?

News this week: Zelda Wii U rumors (lies), cheap iOS games, Ace Attorney 5 news, and a few other short topics.

“Guess the game” for this week: Here’s the link to the image if you want to play along.

Top ten list this week: Top Ten Gamecube games.

Enjoy, and if anyone knows how to get a podcast feed going and make it on iTunes and all that jazz, please let me know!

~Austin

Posted on 11 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features, Podcast | 2 Comments

So here’s another one! This time actually on time, and I have to admit: Despite it starting really slowly, the discussion we had at the end about how old various Nintendo characters are was definitely my favorite discussion we’ve had so far!

If you want to join in on the fun, listen to the podcast and then decide for yourself: How old are all of the following Nintendo characters?

Mario, Toad, Peach, Wario, Waluigi, Grampa Toad, Windwaker Link, Tetra, Gramma Link, Malo, Spirit Track’s Link, Happy Mask Salesman, Fox, Falco, Peppy, Slippy, Krystal, Samus, Ash’s Mom, Pit, Tom Nook, Captain Olimar, Captain Falcon, Snake from MGS4, Kirby, Dr. Kawashima

Posted on 11 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features, Podcast | 0 comments

In the third episode (fifth if you count the one I didn’t put up and the one I accidentally didn’t record!) of ‘Here’s a Podcast’, the people sitting around the iPad talk about New Super Mario Bros 2’s bad 3D, the Miiverse’s potential for success (or failure), potential new Smash Bros. characters, and much more! It’s four people this week instead of three.

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This weeks’ Top Ten List: Five characters we’d eliminate from Smash Bros. and five characters we’d add in. Hit the break for each of our lists, and listen to the full podcast for the complete discussion among a lot of nonsense.

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