[Review] Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold: The Fafnir Knight
Posted on 8 years ago by Dennis Gagliardotto(@LyonHart_) in 3DS, Reviews | 1 Comment
System: Nintendo 3DS
Release: August 4, 2015
Developer: Atlus
Publisher: Atlus
Author: Dennis
Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold is an epic dungeon-crawling experience in which you and a fixed group of party members embark on a journey. The objective is to complete a century-old ritual by a princess you randomly run into inside the forest close to the town your newly formed guild stumbles upon, High Lagaard. It is here you familiarize yourself with the townsfolk and collect quests to help you on your way to completing this ritual with the Princess. However, while deep in the dungeons heading towards the location where the ritual will take place, you come across a large monster in which you are forced to fight. It is here you stumble into other adventurers from faraway places and transform suddenly into an inhuman monster— wielding the power of a legendary sentient being once known as the Fafnir Knight. From this point forward you aim to figure out exactly why, and how, you were bestowed this power. You must uncover this mystery all while trying to complete this ritual with new friends and allies. Just as you have your own special skills and abilities—so do your allies, each with their own individual strengths and weaknesses. You are the hero of this tale, with your guild and a princess; you embark on a quest to uncover the truth behind the origins of the powerful Fafnir Knight.
Here’s a Podcast – Episode 123! (Solar Striker)
Posted on 8 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features, Podcast | 0 comments
No weird audio problems for this show, and nobody died this week so it’s back to form for us. Laura is in town though, so we’re recording in the same room like old times again. I did quite like listener mail this episode though so that’s good. Here are your chapters:
Intro Shenanigans
0:00 – Intros, talking about John Cena
6:45 – Game of the week: Solar Striker!
What we played
10:19 – Casual Splats for Austin (Splatoon)
16:33 – Bring me back to Tomodachi Life
24:37 – Earthbound Beginnings, but mathematical anecdotes soon follow and poop talk
28:50 – Actual Earthbound Beginnings
37:39 – Kingdom Farts for Austin
Shenanigans II
50:50 – Lazy freetures
52:47 – Donkey Konga music break.
54:15 – Tales from the Crypt with Jack
Listener Questions Mail
59:57 – Miiverse Vulgarity
1:01:45 – False Perception of Cynicism with regard to roller coasters
1:07:05 – Playing games while donating blood plasma
1:11:35 – Any Sony game suggestions for a new PS3 owner?
1:15:20 – Can Metroid ever be a big-event game?
1:21:40 – Book club talk from fans yay
1:24:55 – Should other mediums (books, movies, etc) use frustration to create a sense of adventure like games do?
1:31:26 – Should we do an Iwata book club?
Shenanigans Finale
1:32:35 – Villain of the Week: Alex Rodriguez
1:33:33 – Solar Striker QUIZ
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[Let’s Talk] Most anticipated Wii U games
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk, Wii U | 22 Comments
Let’s Talk #16: Most anticipated Wii U games
There are still plenty of Wii U games to look forward to. From Nintendo alone, the company is bringing us Zelda Wii U, Super Mario Maker, Star Fox Zero, Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem (Genei Ibun Roku #FE), Xenoblade Chronicles X, Yoshi’s Woolly World (in North America), Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water, Devil’s Third, Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival, and Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash. There are also a smattering of third-party offerings like Rodea: The Sky Soldier, LEGO Dimensions, Disney Infinity 3.0, Skylanders SuperChargers, and Guitar Hero Live. It goes without saying that there’s still a ton of indie content on the way as well.
All of that being said, is there one Wii U game that you’re looking forward to above all else? If you can’t pick one, what are your top highlights? Let us know in the comments below!
Right now there are three games I’ve been wanting to get my hands on above all else. Let me briefly talk about each.
– Zelda Wii U: it’s Zelda! This series is what really motivated me to pay more attention to video games. Even though I had played games before, going through Ocarina of Time is when my interest really spiked. I was disappointed when Nintendo announced Zelda Wii U’s delay to 2016, but we should be getting a fantastic title in the end.
– Xenoblade Chronicles X: honestly, I do wish this one had already launched in the west at this point. That original January 2013 trailer feels like so long ago. Still, Xenoblade Chronicles X should be worth the wait. Xenoblade ended up as one of my favorite games of all time, and while X should be a fairly different experience, I’m anticipating that there will be enough there to make it both familiar and new at the same time.
– Super Mario Maker: after Nintendo showed this game at last year’s E3, I was mildly interested. I knew I’d pick it up eventually, but it wasn’t something where I thought I needed it at launch. My opinion changed greatly following Super Mario Maker’s showing at E3 2015. I’m just amazed by the amount of crazy things you can do inside different levels. I’ll be playing other creations rather than making them myself, so I can’t wait to see what people come up with.
Update: Winner announced – [Giveaway] Zelda: Symphony of the Goddess concert tickets via Twitter
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Giveaway | 3 Comments
Update: Our winner is in! Congratulations to Scalpium!
We’re kicking off a new worldwide giveaway over on Twitter today. The prize? A pair of tickets to The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddess concert!
You can enter the giveaway by following us on Twitter, re-tweeting this post, and tagging/telling a friend. We’ll be choosing a winner on July 24. Good luck to all!
Let’s try out this Patreon thing
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Site updates | 35 Comments
Running Nintendo Everything is extremely difficult. It can be very stressful. So much of my time and energy is poured into the site every single day, and I usually don’t have much time to relax. I have my hands in so, so many different areas of the site, including plenty of things that aren’t immediately visible to those who visit.
All of that said, there’s a reason why I continue working on Nintendo Everything each day, and it’s quite simple. The bottom line is that I love it. I love writing about Nintendo in one form of another. I love being able to share updates with those who stop by. I take pride in the fact that many people get enjoyment out of the updates I post. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Nintendo Everything has become very much embedded in my daily life, and the site means an incredible amount to me. You all are very important to me as well.
I want to keep working on Nintendo Everything for as long as I can and in the same manner that I have been these past few years. There’s just one major roadblock that has cropped up as of late.
Earlier this month, I put up two crucial site-focused posts. Both of them were financial related. The site, and myself in turn, are struggling in this area. The ads we have on Nintendo Everything help, but they aren’t bringing in the type of revenue that is needed to avoid a major change. I asked for some guidance from you all, and one of the top suggestions was Patreon, which I’ve now decided to pursue.
What is Patreon?
Patreon is sort of like Kickstarter in a way. The campaign we’ve set up allows for people to donate a set amount to the site each month. This can be as low as $1, or something higher. The pledge amount is completely determined by you. Pledges can be changed from month to month if that’s something you’re interested in, and you can even choose to completely cease pledges at any point.
I’ve set up a few different rewards similar to other Patreon campaigns you may have come across. The base reward ($1) is entry into our Hall of Fame, which is now live on the site. We’ll be adding in names – sorted by pledge amounts – once the first month has passed. There are other rewards as well, including access to our Patreon feed where you’ll receive sneak peaks at updates coming to the site, entry into special monthly giveaways, and more.
Something I do want to stress is that Patreon isn’t impacting our coverage of Nintendo in the slightest. We won’t be locking content away behind it, and everything will proceed on Nintendo Everything as normal.
The end!
I have no idea what to expect from Patreon. Heck, this thing could potentially bomb bigtime. But I truly want to thank everyone who will be supporting us through Patreon, and hopefully the site can continue on for years to come!
Nintendo Everything is now on Patreon here!
[Just a Chat] Satoru Iwata
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Just a Chat, Videos | 1 Comment
Jon and I discussed the tragedy surrounding the passing of Nintendo president Satoru Iwata in this week’s episode of Just a Chat. It was rather tough to get through, but we managed to record this somehow!
Stuff:
More: highlight, Satoru Iwata, top
[Let’s Talk] Remembering Satoru Iwata
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk | 4 Comments
Let’s Talk #15: Remembering Satoru Iwata
Given the tragedy surrounding Satoru Iwata, it only seemed right to dedicate this week’s Let’s Talk to his memory. In the comments below, feel free to talk about anything related to Nintendo’s president.
It’s crazy to think that Satoru Iwata is no longer here with us. It’s also crazy to think that everything happened less than a week ago. Despite it having been a few days, I’m still barely able to come to grips with the fact that Iwata passed away.
A lot of thoughts and emotions have been running through my mind since Sunday evening. I can’t begin to tell you how shocked I was when I heard that Iwata had passed away. I just happened to stumble across Nintendo’s IR site with the news – it wasn’t even publicized on Nintendo’s Japanese Twitter account at the time. I almost considered not posting about it on the site when I discovered the announcement since I couldn’t believe it was real. I haven’t been that shocked about something in a very long time.
Even though I never knew Iwata personally, his passing has greatly affected me. It’s been a very sad and long week. There was a lot about Iwata that made him different compared to your typical company president/CEO, so I think that’s one of many reasons reason why many people have been taking this so hard.
Iwata seemed like a very lovely and personable man. Of course, he delivered the Nintendo Direct presentations to us, and during those videos, he wasn’t afraid to poke fun at himself. The Iwata Asks series was another key aspect during his time with Nintendo. These interviews/discussions provided very interesting and valuable insight into the development of Nintendo’s various games.
Iwata’s experience with game development made him quite the unique president. Of course, before joining Nintendo, he worked at HAL. Over the many years in the industry, he was involved with games like Balloon Fight, EarthBound, and Pokemon. He even helped Smash Bros. Melee make its release date. He was a programmer at heart having made a baseball game on a calculator despite it not having graphics.
A lot of people have been asking me over the past few days if I have a favorite memory of Iwata. Truthfully, I don’t. That’s because when I start thinking about his role at Nintendo, there’s so much that comes to mind. There are all of his Nintendo Directs obviously. E3 appearances. 2005 GDC speech. There was also the Game Center CX episode that struck a chord with me, in which he talked more about his life. And those are just the times we saw him in person. Outside of video-esque appearances, there was the time when he dramatically cut his salary in light of the Wii U’s struggles. Introducing Wii and DS to the world, and initiating the Blue Ocean Strategy to wild success were also key parts of his career.
I started paying attention to games during the tail end of the GameCube era, so honestly, Iwata being at Nintendo is really all that I know. It’s extremely tough to picture Nintendo without Iwata at the helm of things. Nintendo will most definitely continue on, but things won’t be the same without him. All we can do at this point is be thankful for his many years at Nintendo and how he put smiles on many people’s faces. He will be greatly missed.
How do you feel about Devil’s Third?
slihm
I’ve been extremely intrigued ever since the multiplayer trailer last year.
Additionally, the campaign looks to have my type of humor. It’s odd because a lot of people seem to be missing the jokes all together. For reference, watch the “Machete Kills” trailer. It’s basically that kind of humor, but in a game. And it’s amazing.
Recent news has made me a little skeptical. The only thing I’m concerned about is the frame rate, because people who have allegedly played the game have been complaining about the inconsistent frame rate.
Blazer
As far as Devil’s Third go, I was interested in the game after seeing it. It’s not the usual type of game you find on Nintendo consoles, but the fact that they seemed to be backing it felt like a sign that I could pay it a little bit of attention. After seeing a bit, I was interested in it because it seemed like a brutal but fun action/shooter game with some cool online components, which I felt I could get behind, especially since it didn’t look as dull as some games.
The concept art, for instance, looks really cool IMO, and while you could certainly make complaints about the main character, I’m fine with his design and approach: he’s at least more memorable than the main characters in many other shooters, IMO. Pretty much, it was a game I had intended to give a good chance since there’s not much else like it on the console, and I like supporting developers who make exclusives for Wii U, esp. since I’ve enjoyed the Wii U a lot–more than most other systems. Dare I say it helped get me back into gaming with a few quality games despite lacking quantity.
Now that the game potentially isn’t being backed by NoA and could be very poor for whatever reasons, I’m less interested/more skeptical and need to have some kind of confirmation on how the game is. I mean, we’ll just have to see, there aren’t even reviews out and even then I take reviews and such with a grain of salt because ultimately they’re just opinions from people who are often only slightly more qualified to analyze, criticize, and praise games than the bulk of other people.
While I’d like to give it a try anyway, if the game is said to be terrible, it’s difficult to justify purchasing it, especially when video games are expensive and there are a ton of other video games out there I’ve yet to beat… play… buy… or even hear about. I mean, I only have so much time, money, and patience, so ultimately I can’t try out every game myself. Hopefully I hear some good things about it so I can keep my pre-order and get it as planned. In that case though, I can only hope someone else actually picks it up so I have people to play with online.
Not having more than a handful of friends (who I rarely talk to) that play Splatoon, for instance, really stinks. I had pretty much no one to play Bayonetta 2 with, either. It’s one of the few problems of preferring to play with friends (esp. with voice, meaning on the Wii U, I need to have them on Skype/they can’t be strangers, since it doesn’t have integrated voice chat into its games), and playing on a console with a low install base in specific regions (I’m not interested in voice chatting with random Japanese people, for instance, but if you limit matchmaking in such games to specific regions where there’s a common language, the wait etc. would be even longer than it already is).
tl;dr, I was interested, and will still pay attention, but I’m skeptical and my purchasing decision hangs in the balance of whether the game seems good enough to be worth giving a chance.
Pretty much, if it’s not a broken game and it’s at least fun but “with problems”, and the Metacritic score is in the 70’s or higher, I’ll probably get it. If it’s in the 60’s, it’ll be a much tougher call dependent on what specifics I hear about the game, and anything lower would really be pushing it. (Granted, it’s less about the arbitrary numbers we call review scores and more with the associated comments that generally come with those numbers.)
Here’s a Podcast – Episode 122 (Radar Mission)
Posted on 8 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features, Podcast | 0 comments
What a week. As you might expect, our podcast this week includes quite a healthy amount of reflection on the life of Satoru Iwata in the form of six “Iwata Bits” featuring quotes and anecdotes about the beloved CEO and some of our personal thoughts about him, but we also manage to keep on with some normal happenings as well. Enjoy.
Opening Shenanigans
4:32 – Iwata Bit #1, “The early years”
6:49 – GOTW – Radar Mission
9:59 – Iwata Bit #2, “My personal Superman”
16:14 – Balloon Fight Remix music break
What we played
18)1 – Jack dedicates his time to Earthbound Beginnings
31:53 – Austin joins the Order of Ecclesia
42:40 – Jack read Geoff Keighley’s book.
48:58 – Iwata Bit #3, “Nintendo is for kids?”
50:10 – Kirby’s Adventure Music Break
Shenanigans Redux
51:18 – Iwata Bit #4, “Iwata Balboa”
52:37 – Our personal appreciations of Iwata
Listener Questions Mail
59:38 – Need for Speed Most Wanted a platformer?
1:05:50 – Custom characters vs. pre-made characters
1:12:28 – Splatoon does allow for something.
1:13:54 – Breath of Fire recommendation.
1:16:52 – Book club recommendations.
1:22:45 – Buster needs to stop hating Majora’s Mask.
1:26:35 – Sometimes, a podcast is all you need.
Ending Shenanigans
1:29:32 – Iwata Bit #5, “Iwata saves Pokémon”
1:32:00 – Radar Mission quiz
1:33:58 – Iwata Bit #6, “A unique CEO”
1:34:57 – The End.
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Update: Winners – [Giveaway] Life of Pixel
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Giveaway | 57 Comments
Update: Winners are in! Congratulations to Vinicius, Fernando Machado, Pedro Capello, and Link Floyd. Codes will be going out tomorrow!
We’re kicking off a new giveaway for the Wii U eShop game Life of Pixel (thanks Max Criden!). In the comments below, tell us about your favorite game made before 1990 for a chance to win. It’ll fit in with the retro theme we have going on.
This giveaway will run through Monday, and we’ll be picking four winners. Please note that the codes are only redeemable on North American Wii U consoles.
Good luck!
[Just a Chat] Devil’s Third, Zero Escape 3, Dragon Quest, and the Epic Indie Sale
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, Just a Chat, Wii U eShop | 0 comments
Brian and Daan are finally back for a new episode of Just a Chat. There was plenty to talk about this week, including the strange situation surrounding Devil’s Third in North America, Zero Escape 3’s announcement, Dragon Quest VII and VIII for the west, and the Epic Indie Sale.
Stuff:
