Famicom 30th Anniversary

On July 15, 1983, Nintendo Co. Ltd launched the Family Computer in Japan. Thirty years later, the Family Computer is still remembered for its success, innovation, and above all else, fun games.

 Happy birthday Famicom!

-ray n. (@themistern)

FAN ART: Howard & Nester

The following is a two page FULL-COLOR comic I've drawn for Howard Phillips, former Nintendo of America employee and the President of the Nintendo Fun Club (which later went on to become Nintendo Power). It's my entry for a "Howard & Nester" comic contest he is sponsoring on Facebook. Enjoy.

Page 1 Page 2

You can also follow him (@GamemasterH) on Twitter.

EDIT: I didn't win, but still, enjoy the comic.




"Howard & Nester" © Howard Phillips, 2012

REVIEW: Nintendo 3DS Circle Pad Pro

Earlier today, after several months since its release, I finally picked up the Nintendo 3DS Circle Pad Pro at GameStop after a new shipment was sent out to stores nationwide. The original shipment was sold out quickly and second-hand units were being re-sold for a higher mark-up online until just recently. Currently, they are (to my knowledge) back in stock at select GameStop stores around the country and in Nintendo's online store for $20.

For anyone who doesn't own a Nintendo 3DS, you may ask what is a Circle Pad Pro?

Last year, this peripheral was released in Japan along with the release of Capcom's "Monster Hunter Tri-G" as an alternative method to control the game. The unit is essentially an add-on to the main unit, adding a second analog circle pad, extra rear trigger buttons, and a grip similar to console controllers. Upon its release, it's gotten mixed reactions, namely why Nintendo neglected to add a 2nd circle pad in the first place and whether the eventual revision of the 3DS will have the 2nd circle pad built in.

Despite it looking like a tumor on my 3DS, the Circle Pad Pro actually feels like I'm holding a "real" controller with the contoured grips and triggers. It's not as big as the pictures make it out to be nor is it heavy. But yeah, it does look unsightly and there's no other color for this thing other than black, so if you have a blue, red, pink or purple 3DS, then colors are going to clash. If that sort of thing bothers you, then I wouldn't recommend the CPP. Also, I wouldn't recommend carrying a 3DS with the CPP attached if you wear skinny jeans; it sticks out of pockets noticeably.

Aesthetics aside, the reason people bought this thing was for the games. I have three games available that are CPP-compatible. I'll list my thoughts on each game's controls with and without the CPP below:

Resident Evil: Revelations

The game controls fine on its own without the CPP, but the extra circle pad makes for a good camera control and makes shooting easier. Recommended with or without the CPP.


Metal Gear Solid 3D: Snake Eater

The game controls poorly without the CPP and while the CPP finally offers more option to control the game, it's still poor. Stick to the console version of MGS3.

Kid Icarus: Uprising

It only leaves the game accesible to left-handed folks. I'm not very coordinated with this style, but it does work. Recommended with the CPP if it works for you.


Final thought: It's something that Nintendo should have incorporated in their initial design, but it was also created after much badgering from third-party developers like Capcom, so it's something that can be either necessary or unnecessary, depending on how you look at it. There's not much use for this thing and Nintendo did say that a small minority of games will use it (neither of those are required to play with the CPP, only supported, and remember to check the back of the game's packaging for a compatibility seal), so the entire experience just feels optional.

Recommended? Not really, since the touch screen is used for input and camera control, a second circle pad blurs between the line of necessity and redundancy. It's cheap though, so it's not a bad investment if you're looking for an alternate style of play. Just don't buy it second-hand with ridiculous markup.


Have a fun weekend,



Image source: GameStop

MomoCon 2012

I'd have written this post on Friday but stuff came up so here I am writing a late convention report on MomoCon 2012. (March 16-18)

This year, MomoCon went through a lot of changes: it now covers Fri, Sat and Sun; it is now a paid convention; the new venue is at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, the same venue as Dragon*Con, an annual SF convention held every September.

Like the past 3 years, I only went on Saturday and Sunday. It was a neat trip, but also felt underwhelming and short compared to last year's madness. While it was more organized, there's a sharp drop in activity. It's not hard to see why: it's now a paid con, so there's less kids to run around, and another convention happened about two blocks away, Furry Weekend Atlanta, so there was a bit of a furry invasion.

I did hang out with friends, get a lot of StreetPass hits, finally found the remaining volumes of Dr. Slump (save for volume 9, but that was soon remedied thanks to John B.), I tried out Guinness on tap (so good), and I got to meet Ellen McLain, voice of GLaDOS from Valve's hit game "Portal". Sadly, my favorite artists weren't around at the artist's alley this year, and the place was crawling with Homestuck cosplayers, bronies, and to a lesser (and a lot more tolerable) extent, Touhou fanatics. Also, con food is just unnecessarily expensive. :/

Due to the limited activity, I took less photos than the previous years, but they should still be of decent quality. There were a lot of repeat cosplayers from the previous years--part of me wonders why I never try to befriend them.

Click here to download the MomoCon 2012 photo album. (13.44MB)

I hope you all enjoy the pictures.



PS: Please vote for my bro Tsukento's entry for the Shonen Jump Fan Love Contest. Thank you.

Pushmo

Lately I've been playing a game on my 3DS called "Pushmo". Pushmo (or "Pullblox" if you're of the European persuasion) is a puzzle-platformer with a simple premise: push and pull blocks in order to climb to the top and reach the goal. With about 200 puzzles, it's one of those games where it's easy to pick up and play but difficult to master. Priced at $6.99 in the Nintendo eShop, Pushmo contains colorful graphics, 3D that is actually HELPFUL to gameplay and best of all, endless replay value.

As you play, you'll unlock "Pushmo Studio", a level editor that lets you create your own puzzles and share them with others via QR codes. Below are five puzzles I've created that you can try out. Don't worry, they're quite easy to solve:

Raphael (TMNT)


Doraemon (Doraemon)


Nukesaku Aida (Tsuide ni Tonchinkan)


Sonichu (Sonichu)


Yawning Squirtle (Sonichu)


If you have a copy of the game, feel free to tweet me your levels and I'll probably make a follow-up post with your levels.

I hope you all have a happy new year's eve--and try not to drink too much.



PS: The game itself is rated E for Everyone, but there's some online communities dedicated to making elaborate Pushmo puzzles and quite a few of them are NSFW. Browse at your own risk.

HIKU-OSU (Pushmo/Pullblox) © Nintendo. Developed by Intelligent Systems.

ZELDA 25

25 years ago, Nintendo released "Zelda no Densetsu: The Hyrule Fantasy" as a launch title for the Famicom Disk System in Japan. A year later, it was released internationally as "The Legend of Zelda" for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was groundbreaking with its sense of exploration, puzzles, scope and being the first NES game with battery backup; this meant that anyone can save a game onto the Game Pak rather than start over from the beginning or jot down a password.

This weekend, "The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword" is released for the Nintendo Wii and it still gives players the same (if not greater) sense of adventure as every other Zelda game before it.

Thank you Nintendo for a series of excellent video games.



PS: Before anyone asks, my favorite Zelda games are "A Link to the Past" and "Link's Awakening".

"THE LEGEND OF ZELDA" © 1986-2011 Nintendo Co. Ltd.

I Need Adventure

Throughout my adulthood, I've always wanted to do an adventure game. I've had an opportunity to help work on one, but laziness and anxiety set in and I couldn't ultimately get far with it. It also didn't help that I couldn't find any time for it due to other responsibilities.

Aside from "DQIX", I've been playing a lot of "Zork" lately. The game, originally by Infocom, has had a revival lately thanks to "Call of Duty: Black Ops" in which "Zork" can be played in a computer within the game. Myself, I've been replaying it on DOSBox.

What is "Zork"? It's a text adventure game. Think of "Choose Your Own Adventure" books, but with more interactivity. The game displays text, and you type down your actions in a text parser. If the command is understood, the game will then reveal what happens next, depending on your action.

Example:

"You are in an empty room, save for a table. On it, there is a glass of water."

>drink water

"You drink the glass of water."

Also, there are grues about and if you do not wish to be eaten by a grue, be sure to turn on your lantern.

Although not the first text adventure game (the honor goes to "The Colossal Cave Adventure"), the Zork trilogy started an adventure boom for the PC in the 1980s. Notable adventure games included the MacVenture titles ("Shadowgate", "Uninvited", "Déjà Vu"), LucasArts's S.C.U.M.M. adventures ("Maniac Mansion", "Monkey Island") and Sierra On-Line ("King's Quest", "Police Quest", "Leisure Suit Larry"). All of the latter games introduced graphics and sound, whereas some have eliminated the text parser and replaced it with a point-and-click interface along with preset commands.

Sadly, adventure games have had their day, but lately a few franchises have been making impacts, mainly the "Sam and Max" titles, Capcom's "Ace Attorney" games, and countless visual novels in Japan.

I'm currently reworking an old script and play mechanics for an adventure game I've been planning since last year, but I'm still deciding whether to make this into a strict text adventure or a more visual experience. If it ever actually gets made, I'll probably post it on this page. Until then, I'm still trying to finish "DQIX".

Deuces,

Dragon Quest IX

I have now turned into Yoshihiro Togashi.

I bought this game a few weeks ago. And I'm still not finished with the main quest yet.

Don't bother me.

Also, buy Candy or Medicine Volume 12 today----it features a comic by yours truly. As for me, back to kill more metal slimes.