I hate it when people label things incorrectly. It makes me very sad and upset. I can’t tell you how much compound irritation I’ve had to repress when, say, someone would write the wrong name down on an online order at work and offer me the duty of rectifying the situation over the phone with Mrs. Jihnson and her missing mail-order appliance, or when a past roommate not-to-be-named would intentionally label the cat food ‘dog food’ just to try to make me sick the next day.

This is why I possess such a vitriol for relatively new Welsh developer Dakko Dakko and their latest attempt at capturing the burgeoning Wii U indie scene (think Mutant Mudds, Cloudberry Kingdom, and all of the other titles I’ve referenced way too much in writing and on the podcast), Scram Kitty and his Buddy on Rails, a 2D shooter with strong open-world platforming elements. The ‘On Rails’ signifier at the end there implies imprison-y, limited bounds and pointed, one-dimensional gameplay design, whereas Scram Kitty, in its comparative sense of freedom to the recent litany of top-notch platformers we’ve seen reach the eShop, feels anything but. Scram Kitty, though confusing in name, scratches an itch not satiated fully by its contemporaries on the platform. By not being as singularly masterful in its level design elements as, say, VVVVVV or Mighty Switch Force!, Scram Kitty feels a little less uptight and neo-retro, yet crucially still achieves the same level of “old-school hardcore” as those luminaries do. I will not use any cat puns in this review.

More: highlight, review, Scram Kitty and his Buddy on Rails, Wii U eShop

Here’s a Podcast – Episode 95!

Posted on 10 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features, Podcast | 4 Comments

ON THIS EPISODE: The first half hour of the show is dominated by talk of two masterful games that Jack played: Katamari Damacy and The Last of Us, followed by some talk of Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box and Child of Light from Laura.

PLUS: Did you think we’d forget about Mario Kart 8? Heck no! We talk for a solid 45 minutes about the game, so skip to the 48 minute mark if you just can’t wait to hear all about our thoughts on it.

AND: Since what we played took so long (due to the big release!) we don’t talk much about the Gamecube controller port for Wii U, so listener mail on a variety of subjects rounds out the show for a two-hour-long bonanza.

This Week’s Podcast Crew: Austin, Jack, and Laura

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More: Child of Light, highlight, Mario Kart 8, podcast

[Weekly Screenshot] Art of Balance Wii U #7 – Taking a Bow

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Screenshots, Weekly Screenshot, Wii U eShop | 1 Comment

Alas, after seven weeks now Shin’en’s run of exclusive screenshots for us has come to an end! We’ve seen quite a bit of Art of Balance, and now, fittingly, we’re seeing the ending of the game. Take a look above for the background of the credits screen, and read below for what it is, why it is, and how it is. Thanks to Manfred from Shin’en for giving us all this stuff to show you, and we hope you enjoyed the run!

More: Art of Balance, highlight, Shin'en, top

Here’s a Podcast – Episode 94!

Posted on 10 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features, Podcast | 16 Comments

ON THIS EPISODE: What we played? Moon Chronicles makes up most of the new games we’ve run through this week, but Squids Odyssey makes a brief appearance as well as some discussion of a book on game criticism by Ian Bogost titled “Unit Operations”. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze makes its return as Austin laments the lack of attention the game gets (given how incredible he says it is), and Super Mario 64 becomes the catalyst for a discussion about when bias becomes too strong to ignore.

PLUS: A mid-segment this week about our memories of the now-dead Nintendo Wifi Connection, plus some short discussion about Hyrule Warriors.

AND: Complaint Corner makes its return because Austin is extremely upset about the way some people analyze or perceive games; he thinks game critics still have a long way to go before coming into their own. Listener mail about a variety of topics rounds out the ending!

This Week’s Podcast Crew: Austin, Jack, and Laura

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More: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, highlight, Moon Chronicles, podcast

[Review] Squids Odyssey (Wii U eShop)

Posted on 10 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in 3DS, 3DS eShop, Features, Reviews | 2 Comments

System: Nintendo Wii U
Release Date: May 22nd, 2014 (NA/EU)
Developer: The Game Bakers

Author: Austin

Almost three thousand years ago, a shy fellow (I don’t know if he was shy) named Homer lived in Greece, and he wrote two really famous epic poems: The first– The Illiad— is thought to be the oldest surviving piece of western literature ever. The second– The Odyssey— is just as famous, and this week, nearly three millennia after its initial writing, The Game Bakers have created a work directly inspired by the work of Homer for the Wii U eShop. It’s called Squids Odyssey.

Most of what is written in the paragraph above isn’t true. Squids Odyssey does exist, but it’s not a game based around Homer’s Odyssey— no, it’s a creative and unique turn-based strategy game set far beneath the surface of the ocean that’s unfortunately marred by a lack of technical polish and attention. Still, it may be worth your time; read on for details.

More: 3DS, eshop, highlight, review, Squids Odyssey

[Feature] An Ode to Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection – Saying goodbye to DS and Wii’s online (part 1)

Posted on 10 years ago by Jarop(@gamrah) in DS, Features, Wii | 3 Comments

On May 20^th, GameSpy ceased all maintenance for multiplayer services that they previously hosted, marking the end of online support for Wii and DS titles and the end of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection (WFC) era. Since its launch in November 2005, the little blue circle on the boxes of our beloved franchises have signified the ability to participate in matchmaking online and experience Nintendo’s first real take at online gaming. From Friend Codes to Nintendo branded Wi-Fi dongles, let’s take a look back at some of the best WFC had to offer in all its WEP encrypted, Wii Speak glory.

More: highlight, Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, top

[Weekly Screenshot] Art of Balance Wii U #6 – Shin’en’s First Time Online

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Screenshots, Weekly Screenshot, Wii U eShop | 6 Comments

Keeping things light this week, Shin’en’s Manfred Linzer returns to NintendoEverything with a nice summary of the game’s lobby system and how implementing online for Art of Balance on Wii U was tough because it was the team’s first time ever doing an online game. Aside from what he told us, we can glean that the game will keep track of your win/lose record, as well as display your country of origin when matchmaking. The rest remains mysterious… for now.

Read on past the break for Manfred’s own words about what you see above, and the development of the game’s online mode:

More: Art of Balance, highlight, Shin'en, top

[Review] Kirby Triple Deluxe (3DS)

Posted on 10 years ago by Spencer(@spencerstevens) in 3DS, Features, Reviews | 8 Comments

System: Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: May 2nd, 2014 (NA), May 16th, 2014 (EU)
Developer: HAL Laboratory
Publisher: Nintendo

Author: Spencer

Everyone’s favorite pink puff has finally returned in his first adventure on the Nintendo 3DS, Kirby: Triple Deluxe.

Out of the box, Triple Deluxe consists of three gameplay modes: Story Mode, Kirby Fighters, and Dedede’s Drum Dash. The Story Mode is straightforward: Dreamland is in danger, and it’s up to Kirby to save the day. This time, a mysterious new villain has uprooted Kirby’s home with massive magical vines and sent everything sky-high! Players navigate Kirby through many levels in seven worlds as he makes his ascent to the top of the menacing entanglement.

More: 3DS, highlight, Kirby Triple Deluxe, review

Here’s a Podcast – Episode 93!

Posted on 10 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features, Podcast | 7 Comments

ON THIS EPISODE: We’ve got some new Nintendo-platform games to talk about this week! First off, though, Laura tells us about the actually-not-terrible DLC for Disney Magical World and the crew discusses the online play of Mario Kart Wii and why sometimes no-communication can be cool. Then, Jack gives us his impressions of the new Wii U eShop game Scram Kitty and His Buddy on Rails, and Austin walks us through the first hour or so of Moon Chronicles on 3DS.

PLUS: Nintendo creates every Mario Kart game from scratch, and lately they’ve taken it upon themselves to really put a ton of work into very minor details. Is this strategy good for them, or would it be more beneficial for them (or for us as gamers!) if they put out titles more quickly with less of these details/polish?

AND: A bit of listener mail wraps up the show, as always. Some questions about Nintendo merging consoles and portables for their next system(s), as well as talking about what old Nintendo franchises should be revived. (hint: bring back Project H.A.M.M.E.R.)

This Week’s Podcast Crew: Austin, Jack, and Laura

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More: highlight, Moon Chronicles, podcast, Scram Kitty and his Buddy on Rails

[Weekly Screenshot] Art of Balance Wii U #5 – Challenge Mode in an Abandoned House…?

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Screenshots, Weekly Screenshot, Wii U eShop | 3 Comments

Hey everybody, we hope your day is going well/went well/etc! Manfred Linzer from Shin’en has given us another exclusive screenshot from their upcoing Wii U puzzle game Art of Balance, and within it we’re getting a look at the game’s “Challenge Mode” as well as the setting, which– for some reason– is an abandoned house. The real question is who used to live in it before people started playing block games in the attic…?

I guess that’s not for us to say! Here’s Manfred’s description of the screenshot: