Thursday, September 30, 2010

Nintendogs blamed for actual dog attack

Written by pikaby

And in this week's 'The DS Can Do Everything' and 'WTF News' section....

A dog, a bull mastiff to be exact, lunged at a 9-year old girl after it was purportedly 'startled' by the bark of an in-game dog in Nintendogs that the girl was playing then. Her lip was bit off by the dog, and surgically reattached. The dog was put down.

"I think this game should carry some kind of warning," the girl's grandmother told the Mail. "People should be told not to play it when there are dogs in the room. I blame the game for what happened to Megan. If they hadn't been playing it I don't think the dog would have gone for her."

This is the most ironic thing I've ever read, and sounds like a big pile of BS. A few sites have reported that the girl had accidentally kicked the dog before it attacked her. That might be the reason, and not the Nintendogs game.
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Good old DS gets more Kirby, Pokemon love

Written by pikaby

Along come the two bright, cheery and cute faces of Nintendo to light up the DS in 2011 when everyone else has graduated to its successor. One final hurrah for the dual-screened console!

Kirby will be starring in his 4th DS outing, which is a platformer as usual. Outside of the video montage and a few shots, nothing much is known about this except there are like, a billion Kirbys on-screen at any one time. What the heck's happened in Dream Land this time? Also, more cuteness overload. You simply can't get enough of his round, pink, charming face.


As for Pokemon, it's getting a game similar to Typing of the Dead- you type out words to capture Pokemon. And, it comes packed in with a DS-compatible wireless keyboard! Are they serious about getting kids to learn how to type? I hope it won't be that shallow because people like me want to play it too! Or, maybe not. Maybe I'll get the game without the keyboard just for the heck of it. It's rare to find a 3D handheld Pokemon game. Being the Pokemon freak I am, even novelty games interest me.

The touch screen can also be used as a makeshift keyboard, but how that will work out is beyond me, as the screen can only take one input at a time, and finger presses don't register well. Who knows?


Both are slated for 2011.
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Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Nintendo DS/DSi 2010/2011 lineup

Written by pikaby

With 3DS looming in the horizon, the humble DS still wants to prove that it can still be everyone's favorite portable long after its successor takes the market by storm. And it will, with Pokemon B/W I'll be occupied for years....just kidding. Here's its lineup for this year and the next. Release dates quoted are for the JP region.



Golden Sun: Dark Dawn (Nintendo) October 28 2010
Super Fossil Fighters (Nintendo) November 18 2010
Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem (Nintendo) December 2 2010
(followed by two Japanese games which I have no idea of)
Radiant Historia (Atlus) November 3 2010
Motto! Stitch! Rhythm de Rakugaki Daisakusen! (Disney) November 18 2010 (apparently Stitch is still big among Japanese kiddies)
Cute Kittens DS 3 (MTO) November 25 2010
Craft Mama (Office Create) November 11 2010
(perverted witch-touching game)
Okamiden: Chiisaki Taiyou (Capcom) September 30 2010 (wow. That close?)
(6 Japanese games that comprise of either anime licensed games or stuff no one cares about)
Power Pro-kun Pocket 13 (Konami) November 25 2010
Dog/Cat Animal Hospital (Columbia Music Entertainment) October 28 2010
Kingdom Hearts Re:coded (Square Enix) October 7 2010
Four Heroes of Light (Square Enix) 2010-2011 winter
(another game no one cares about)
Sonic Colors (Sega) November 18 2010
(someone tell me what this one is)
Bakugan Battle Brawlers DS (Sega) December 9 2010
Fushigi no Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer 5 (Chunsoft) December 9 2010 (where's our Gen 5 PMD game, Chunsoft? :3 )
Metal Fight Beyblade (Hudson) December 2 2010
(two more uninteresting ones)
Super Robot Taisen L (Bandai Namco) November 25 2010
(three more Japanese-market games)
Kirby (working title) (Nintendo) 2011 (yes, yes, YES! I'll get on tracking this right away)
Battle and Get! Pokemon Typing DS (The Pokemon Company) 2011
Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth 2 (Capcom) Spring 2011

And there you have it. Admittedly the DS is lacking a lot of powerful releases, and most of these games seem to cater to the Japanese and for people with special interests (how many people want to play yet another land-conquering/robot/monster battling/anime girl game?), but the final three games, plus Okamiden and Golden Sun, made the rest of the list utterly insignificant. New Kirby DS game? New Pokemon game? Miles Edgeworth 2? Sign me up!

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Nintendo Wii 2010/2011 lineup

Written by pikaby



You've seen the 3DS' lineup, now back to the good old Wii, with its own 2010/2011 plethora of games! We've seen some of these before actually. Release dates quoted in the video are JP release dates.

Kirby's Epic Yarn (Nintendo) October 14 2010
Super Mario Collection Special Pack (Nintendo) October 21 2010
Flingsmash (Nintendo) November 18 2010
Mario Sports Mix (Nintendo) November 25 2010
Donkey Kong Country Returns (Nintendo) TBA
Babysitting Mama (Office Create) December 2 2010
Earthseeker (?) Winter 2010 (will fill in publisher name as soon as possible!)
Sonic Colors (Sega) November 18 2010
Party Game Box 100 (Hudson) November 11 2010 (Avoid.)
Karaoke Joysound Wii Super DX (Hudson) December 9 2010
Fitness Party (Bandai Namco) December 9 2010
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle (Marvelous Entertainment) October 21 2010 (remember, Japanese people haven't got it yet!)
(this boxing game which doesn't seem to stand out...next)
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Nintendo) 2011 (geez, no Japanese name yet? Shows how much interest they have in Zelda over there)
Fatal Frame (working title) (Nintendo) 2011
Rhythm Heaven (working title) (Nintendo) 2011
Inazuma Eleven Strikers (Level-5) 2011
(another fitness game...pass)
The Last Story (Nintendo) January 27 2011

Well, as with every year before that Wii has always had a few duds in the lineup video (four friggin fitness games? This late in the console cycle? You would've thought people would have given up by now), but a lot of good games stand out, and Rhythm Heaven Wii was a genuine surprise, since it hasn't been announced anywhere else yet.
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Nintendo 3DS first lineup video

Written by pikaby


Remember the Wii/DS video montages of upcoming games Nintendo did about two years ago? The 3DS is getting its first one, and nearly every single game is worth getting excited over.

All those games we saw and heard of at E3 are no longer limited to mere screenshots. Here's the full list of the games in the video:

Kid Icarus: Uprising (Nintendo)
nintendogs + cats (Nintendo)
Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition (Capcom)
Resident Evil: Revelations (Capcom)
Resident Evil: Mercenaries (Capcom)
Sengoku Musou Chronicle (Koei Tecmo)
Dead Or Alive Dimensions (Koei Tecmo)
Pro Yakkyu Spirits (Konami) (Baseball. Obligatory)
Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater (Konami)
Paper Mario (working title) (Nintendo)
Pilotwings Resort (working title) (Nintendo)
Mario Kart (working title) (Nintendo)
Chocobo Racing 3D (working title) (Square Enix)
Super Monkey Ball 3D (working title) (Sega)
Ridge Racer 3D (working title) (Bandai Namco)
Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle (Level-5)
Starfox 64 3D (Nintendo)
Steel Diver (Nintendo)
Animal Crossing (working title) (Nintendo)
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (working title) (Nintendo)

So many first party games, and 3DS is going to be the proving grounds for Nintendo to attract the real 3rd party talent and, dare I say it, hardcore games being developed for the console. Hardcore as it may be, there wasn't a single FPS game announced so far. That's kinda...refreshing to hear.

Book 2011 off, it's the year of 3DS!
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Nintendo 3DS release date!

Written by pikaby

Late, late, LATE!

Earlier today, the 3DS release date was penned for February of 2011 for Japan. No more rumored 2010 release, but that's still pretty fast. But at this rate it's going to take a while for it to hit the US in English....oh well, I think I can stand the wait.

The final specs for 3DS (if specs really matter in a Nintendo console) can be found here. It'll be bundled with a charger, a stylus, a 2GB SD card (wow. What brand?) and booklets.

It has a slide pad, in addition to the regular touch functionality, a motion and a gyro sensor. And the rest of it is standard stuff- 0.3 megapixel cameras, compatibility with DS games ands DSiWare....you know.

Excited! Yes!
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New Pokemon, Old Techniques

Written by pikaby

B/W may be the latest Pokemon game, but unlike any of the previous games, it doesn't turn to making another billion new methods to evolve your Pokemon or another billion new evolution stones. There are still new methods, but those have mercifully been kept to a minimum, instead focusing on the use of existing evolution methods to evolve the new Pokemon. Old Pokemon which have lost their evolution method due to the new location and removal of certain features (heh, knew it'd come back to haunt Game Freak someday) also have replacement methods.

Old stones finally get a new lease of life. It's almost refreshing.


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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Gym Battle 5- Yaakon

Written by pikaby



My own recording again. This time it's the 5th Gym Leader, Yaakon, who uses Ground-types. I'm doing this out of random because I really loved the gym's innards, and your grand entrance deep underground into the Gym Leader's lair, damn cool.

It was just two hours ago that I found the ice-cream Pokemon (Banipucchi) kind of cute. And now he's on my team and owning the ass out of the Ground-types in the Gym. Well, not Doryuuzu though.
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Monday, September 27, 2010

Pokemon B/W- The great color divide

Written by pikaby


One of the greatest disparities in Pokemon Black/White and the most interesting aspect of both games are their version-exclusive locations, Black City and White Forest. They're on the same location of the Isshu map, which is to the east of Raimon City (4th Gym, Pokemon Musical). Not only are they completely different, but the things you get to do in there will make players with opposite versions want to co-operate with each other even more. It does matter if you're black or white.

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Wii Remote Plus?

Written by pikaby


Image from Kotaku.

FlingSmash, the subtly cute Nintendo ball-smashing Wii game, is coming out by the end of this year, and according to Gamestop, will be packaged in a bundle with something called the 'Wii Remote Plus'. That looks like a normal old black Wiimote to me. And also, FlingSmash can't be played without the usage of Wii Motion Plus. All this points to one thing- a regular Wiimote with a built-in Motion Plus.

Before you once again take your pitchforks to Nintendo and ask why they never did this in the first place, remember this is all technological progress taking place. Motion Plus, two years ago, couldn't be integrated into the Wiimote without being big and bulky. Thus it took them long enough to come up with this, albeit a bit too late for people to really make full use of it.

I'm going to appreciate a built-in Motion Plus very, very much, since this means no more contending with the stupid Wiimote jacket that you're forced to put on every time you strap Motion Plus on, and no more struggling with connecting and re-synching Motion Plus every. Five. Minutes. because it keeps on disconnecting itself from the Wiimote when it's obviously still stuck tightly to it. ARGH.

Now, what would happen if I attached ANOTHER Wii Motion Plus to the end of this one...?
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Saturday, September 25, 2010

Donkey Kong Country Returns preorder comes with free banana

Written by pikaby


This might be the most random thing to ever be given out to people who preorder a game. A....pouch, for storing your Wiimote when you're not playing, shaped like Donkey Kong's perpetually favorite fruit. Bananas are awesome. It's Gamestop's bonus.
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Pokemon Black/White has done it

Written by pikaby


The final column is total units sold for the week. See that crazy increment from 2nd to first? Guess who?

1. Pokemon Black/White- 2557779 units (blimey!)
2. Front Mission Evolved- 51084 units
3. Yugioh  5DS Dark Force 5- 45879 units
4. Halo Reach, bundle + non-bundle- 44413 units
5. Wii Party, bundle + non-bundle- 36547 units

Monster Hunter Diaries dropped out of top five after two weeks holding the top spot, and it's really quite surprising to see Halo Reach up there when most Japanese don't even own X360s.

In the hardware sector, boosted by Pokemon Black/White, both DSi and DSi XL sales hold the top spot in Japan, selling 47379 and 31254 units respectively. That's the power of Pokemon for you.
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Friday, September 24, 2010

Pokemon White- First impressions

Written by pikaby

Okay, I have the import, I've played at least seven hours, and I'm ready to say what I think about this new Pokemon game. B/W is supposed to be 'a fresh start' for the series. It may sound like a gimmick, but spend half an hour in B/W and you realize that even though the core gameplay remains exactly the same, it couldn't be any more detached from the rest of the series.


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Donkey Kong Country Returns new trailer

Written by pikaby



High-quality footage showing Rambi the rhino making a return together with the rest of the game! More animal friends on the way? Sure hope so.
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Wednesday, September 22, 2010

My own recording of Pokemon White

Written by pikaby



Yep, this is me playing. I'm trying to contain my excitement. Loving the emphasis on type weakness in the first Gym, something that was just mentioned for fun in all previous games but really given a head start here. I would have been dead if not for fire monkey Baoppu. He's a gift, depending on your starter's type.
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Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Pokemon Black/White - VS Blue!?

By Pokefreak

Pokemon Black and White have been out in Japan for a few days now, and everything about it has spread onto the internet. The battles, the Pokemon, the music. The music. One theme kinda surprised me a little bit when I heard it. Here it is. (hurry up and watch it before Nintendo takes it down for having Reshiram and Zekrom in the picture)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9TEzmAqZRA

-Pokemon Black and White: Kanto Champion Theme-

VAHT IZ THIS!?
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Pokemon 5th Gen plush dolls

Written by pikaby


Whole Pokedex is out with Pokemon B/W's release. What else is left to do? Make a fanbase for Gen 5 mascots! These are the first plush dolls to come out for Gen 5 Pokemon (excluding the Zorua/Zoroark dolls given out at Pokemon's 13th movie premiere).

Clockwise from top left: Hiyappu, Baoppu, Yanappu, Yorterrie, Minezumi, Churine, Chaobuu, Futachimaru, Jyanobii.
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Cammie Dunaway leaves Nintendo

Written by pikaby


Infamous Nintendo PR lady Cammie Dunaway is leaving Nintendo. For real? As much as we all love to hate on her (well, the most of us), she's actually pretty decent, bar E3 2008, she's done a really good job of marketing the Wii to everyone not in Nintendo's fanbase (second only to Reg-man).

"We appreciate Cammie's contributions to Nintendo and the role she played in bringing the Wii and Nintendo DS experiences to millions of people. Her team and the rest of Nintendo of America remain focused on our goal of maintaining the incredible momentum Nintendo enjoys heading into the busy holiday season." - Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America's president and chief operating officer
"I'm thankful for my time with Nintendo and proud of our team's accomplishments in growing the Nintendo audience. I look forward to watching the continued growth of the Nintendo brand in the years ahead." - Cammie Dunaway

New job? Well, with her superb experience at promoting motion control and 'putting smiles to people's faces', I'd wager she take up a job at Sony/Microsoft and help promote their newly released motion devices too. All three companies need some Cammie love. Maybe.

And I'll never forget that face. Best 'BUY MY FREAKING CONSOLE NAO' face ever.
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Sunday, September 19, 2010

Intense Gym Battle

Written by pikaby




Yesterday, footage of the Sky Arrow Bridge. Today, a Gym Battle. If you're not looking for spoilers, just don't play the video, nice and simple. Otherwise, admire the new battle interface. It's much quicker than in D/P/Pt, right? Could still be refined a bit further, but very good effort overall.

Also, loving the music change when your Pokemon hits critical HP, and also the other music change when the Gym Leader is down to his final Pokemon. Great effect.
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Storage in Pokemon Black/White

Written by pikaby

You can count me as one of the people who was shocked by Pokemon B/W only having 8 storage boxes in the PC. Each box holds 30 Pokemon, which brings the total to about 240. Hey, but that's too little! What about everything that isn't in the Isshu Dex? Surely there should be more space to put those in?

Quite worrying, right? But it's enough to stuff in everything you can catch in the Isshu Dex. For everything else (as found out by Japanese players and boffins from esteemed Pokemon fansites Serebii and Pokebeach), extra boxes are indeed unlocked when the game is completed. More than you could ever want, in fact. In the end, you're left with 24, yes, twenty four, boxes to store your Pokemon. That's a whopping 720 monsters in your PC! Hope you've got enough Pokeballs!

Too bad this isn't compatible with the ages-old Pokemon storage utility Pokemon Ranch...there should be a new, 5th gen version of it so crazy nutheads who catch way more than they should have even more space to dump their Pokemon.
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Mii gets killed in PS Move ad

Written by pikaby


Before you take your pitchforks to Sony HQ (lolfanboys), know that this isn't an official ad for the thing, but produced by an outside studio (Wolfbreeder). Cool yer jets.
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Professor Layton and the Unwound Future Commercial

Written by pikaby



How appropriately British. Best Layton commercial ever.
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Mario's 25th birthday?

Written by pikaby


Much as we'd try to remember him, he always manages to be the forgotten one. Yeah, I'm guilty too. From Digitalunrestcomic.com
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Saturday, September 18, 2010

This would be the perfect pack-in for Pokemon B/W

Written by pikaby


And it's released on the same day too! Play B/W, then charge your DS here. Absolutely perfect!
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Sky Arrow Bridge

Written by pikaby



It's official launch day! Pokemon Black/White, in Japanese...the language barrier didn't prevent N5S from going briefly Pokemon-insane for the day, and probably for the next few days to come too. All the updating has made me tired, and the full Pokedex of Gen 5 Pokemon plus their sprites can all be found on Pokebeach.com. Here's their list.

Since this isn't a fully-fledged Pokemon blog I wouldn't go into too much detail about where you'll ctach which wild Pokemon, where you encounter Rival battles and such (those are for perfect guides and, of course, for you to find out on your own if you're playing it), but I still want everyone to watch this video. The Sky Arrow Bridge, connecting Yaguruma Forest and the legendary Hiun City. It's freakin' huge- nothing of the sort has ever been in a Pokemon game ever, and it's light years ahead of any new designs introduced in D/P. Even on the same handheld console.

The season is mentioned at the start of each play. It's Spring now. Nice. Those questions on the menu? It's whether you want to turn on Wireless connections and the C-Gear. It's always connected, see. Eats up battery life.
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Thursday, September 16, 2010

Pokemon Black/White- (Probably) Final New Pokemon update

Written by pikaby

If you've been loyally keeping up for the past few days, the Pokedex is slowly being leaked out, and as pre-orders for the Japanese version are finally starting to ship, new info came down in one fell swoop. Evolutions and pre-evolutions of Pokemon we didn't know had one. Completely new beasts, and really unusual design choices. Story elements too.

Spoiler alert.

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3rd US Kirby's Epic Yarn trailer!

Written by pikaby



For some reason US trailers of games usually feature a lot less talking than their Japanese counterparts, preferring to let the gameplay do the talking. No story details are revealed in English as such, but lots of new footage, again, from this video. A hub world so cleverly unlocked in only a way which a world of cloth can, a teddy bear that needs stitching up (best touch ever!), Kirby's heart-melting fire engine and submarine transformations....You'd have to have a heart of stone not to love Epic Yarn.
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Kirby's Epic Yarn details

Written by pikaby

- earn a medal at the end of each stage based on how many collectibles you've gathered up
- dying reduces your total number of beads
- you can quickly grab those beads back after you die, but they'll eventually disappear
- when playing co-op, bounce off of your partner
- little felt angels will scoop up Kirby and Prince Fluff whenever they fall
- pick up your partner and throw them
- pick them up with your strand of yarn
- they cannot free themselves from the yarn unless you hit the button to let them go
- music tracks to find and listen to in the game's music room
- collect items to put in Kirby's apartment (a customizable area in the hub world)
- hub world features mini-games
- one mini-game has you hunting down five tiny, floating, hidden creatures

You can't die? Well there goes any element of challenge in the game. But then again, no Kirby game has always been taxing either, and they don't need to be. Felt angels pick you up when you fall- sounds like cute. Me wanna see it!

Source: GoNintendo
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Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Live Action Pokemon Movie

Written by pikaby


From some website caled Shogungamer comes this interesting piece of footage. A live-action Pokemon movie, made to be filmed like a covert trailer showing. Heaven knows whether this is real or fake (my brain points towards the 'fake' end), but.....what the hell am I watching.

Pokemon don't look so cheaply animated and plasticky. They obviously wanted to show as little of the Pokemon moving so as to prevent people from smelling a rat. Meowth, Psyduck, Jigglypuff, Squirtle, Voltorb, all shown in only a split-second each.

Ash is not an adult, and he doesn't act so badass in the actual anime.

And oh lord, the VIOLENCE. Things that were ten times tamer were censored out by Nintendo. I don't think they'll be wanting to show anyone the scene of Voltorb exploding, killing a person and destroying a car in the process. And what, guns in a Pokemon movie? Never. Never never never never never.

If it turns out to be real, it's almost definitely going to suck. If it's fake, however, kudos for such a great effort in making a Pokemon home movie.
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Meta Knight in Kirby's Epic Yarn

Written by pikaby

Found from GoNintendo, reportedly leaked from the latest Famitsu. Pokemon news tend to leak fast, but anything else can be heavily speculated. Looks authentic though, so I'd put my chips on 'yes, Meta Knight's in the game'

Which can only be a good thing. What would a Kirby game be, no matter how radical the concept, without it's mainstay characters?
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Monday, September 13, 2010

Resident Evil 3DS screenshots

Written by pikaby

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Capcom showed this together with the Street Fighter screenshots. No mess-ups this time. Now you'll understand how powerful 3DS can be....when 3D mode is turned off, of course. How it'll look with 3D on is completely unknown to anyone not looking at it directly.
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Super Mario Bros. turns 25

Written by pikaby


25 already? Even I haven't lived that long to recognize the significance of the first Mario...but at least I was close. I grew up playing Super Mario World without knowing what a historic character he was, till the days of the Gamecube. Mario has been a part of me as it is for every other gamer, and it'll continue to be. So, the least I can do is say congrats to him, and I'll be seeing Mario for another 25 years to come, I hope.

But enough about me. Nintendo are throwing their own anniversary party, releasing this sweet-looking bundle in a red box, containig Super Mario All Stars, a soundtrack CD and a DVD with Mario's history in it. A website has also been opened to commemorate Mario's 25th birthday, and contests and lucky draws are organized with tons of Mario-related prizes to be won, including those sweet Mario hanafuda playing cards we saw a few months back They're different, with a large 25th anniversary emblem emblazoned on the back of each card. Tote bags, T-shirts, and so much more. To participate in the draw, Japanese people (yes, not you and me) have to buy a Wii or DS Mario game. Jealousy sets in.



You can view the awesome site for yourself here. Wish Mario a happy birthday while you're at it!
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New Street Fighter IV 3DS screenshots

Written by pikaby

I guess Capcom's releasing them ahead of Tokyo Game Show or something. These were shown together with the 3DS version of Resident Evil. Check 'em out.

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Of course, asking a handheld to replicate next-gen console quality graphics is too much, but...

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LOL
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Sunday, September 12, 2010

Pokemon Sunday- Final pre-B/W release week!

Written by pikaby

It's September 11th, exactly one week before Pokemon Black/White's release in Japan (and Nintendo 5-Star is temporarily going to be a Pokemon blog, har har), and the final Pokemon Sunday episode to air before the release date is here. Nothing new is revealed, nothing compared to what CoroCoro has shown us. But here are the videos anyway.




Interview with Junichi Masuda, confirmation that 5th Gen will have absolutely no connection to the previous games, and a few other things, like how the C-Gear was in development for years before B/W was revealed.

But just enjoy the footage! It'll be the last preview for B/W. Get ready for it to storm the world!
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Saturday, September 11, 2010

Pokemon Black/White- September CoroCoro leaked!

Written by pikaby



More scans, more new Pokemon! And I mean a lot more. Check them out!


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Friday, September 10, 2010

Pokemon B/W Designer Interviews, Zoos and Aquariums for Inspiration

Written by pikaby

In order to design Pokemon you even visited an aquarium. Did you go out to research often?
Sugimori: At the beginning of development, the entire team went to the zoo. In this case it was the Tama Zoo that we visited. We each went our own way to watch the animals. The mole exhibit was really interesting. Tubes were connected through the ceiling, and the moles ran through them at incredible speeds. I was shocked.
Tagami: Usually I look at picture books and nature programs on television. When I heard about Mr. Oomura’s trip to the aquarium, I also went to the zoo to observe the snakes. But I watched the snakes for about 30 minutes, and they didn’t move at all. (laughs)
Ibe: I also went to zoos and pet shops where I could actually touch the animals. I checked where the joints met and watched how the birds folded their wings. (laughs)
That’s interesting. What ended up being your best reference?
Oomura: Actually observing living animals, of course. As the game’s development grew more hectic we couldn’t go out to research, but we’d come to understand how the animals moved, captured prey, etc., and that made drawing easier.
Tagami: When the development was hectic, I would reference the people walking around town. People’s hairstyles and so on. It was interesting. (laughs)
Sugimori: It’s as they said. Many different things went into the Pokemon. For example, with the Fire-type Pokemon, the pipes from furnaces and ironworks went into the shape of the body and the markings. By tying different images together, new designs were born.
The full interview by Pokemon Peer is being translated by Pokebeach.com as we speak, and includes fascinating details of the making of the starter Pokemon, how the process goes on, and much more. Link.
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Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Pokemon B/W gets perfect score from Famitsu

Written by pikaby
 

Pokemon has always been huge in Japan, but never this huge. Famitsu's perfect score is nothing to sneeze at, getting perfect 10s across all four reviewers is extremely rare. In fact, not more than 15 games have gotten 40/40 in the mag's long history. To put B/W's achievement in comparison, that the score isn't just fueled by hype alone, consider that Pokemon Diamond/Pearl got 35/40, Platinum got 36/40, and HeartGold/SoulSilver got 37/40. None came close. All reviewers praised Black/White's new, fresh approach to the series, renewing everything without recycling old material, while staying true to the series' original appeal.

The only other game to get a perfect 40 from Famitsu this year was Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (PSP). And now the battle begins.
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Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Next Nintendo console will 'leave your mouth open'

Written by pikaby

"At Nintendo we always have the obligation to surprise users with a new game console. We have never done what others have. We prefer to create something new that catches attention, and I think this will continue this time as well. Surely the new Nintendo machine will leave you all with your mouth open."-Yoshio Sakamoto

Nintendo are no stranger to innovation. Surely it won't take much effort for them to repeat the feats of 2006 when Wii was first shown to the public, and them again this year when 3DS was shown. Both generated people stampedes to the E3 show floor just to see their stuff. No other modern console has been met with this much enthusiasm, honestly speaking.

Once Nintendo pulls the veil from its latest console, be prepared to see Sony and Microsoft to copy the idea 4 years later like they did this generation. (Or maybe they'll wise up and get on the bandwagon right away, what do I know)

Source
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Ninokuni First Japanese commercials

Written by pikaby

 

The first two Japanese commercials for the highly anticipated DS RPG are out for viewing! Although still not betraying any secrets about its gameplay, which is still being kept largely hidden.

Just to clarify things though, since it doesn't mention a console name in both ads, the release date of December 9 2010 is for the DS version of Ninokuni, and not the PS3 version. The full title of the game shown in the ad is 二ノ国 漆黒の魔導士 (Ninokuni- Shikkoku no Madoushi, or Ninokuni- The Pitch Black Sorcerer), while the PS3 version's name is  二ノ国 白き聖灰の女王 (Ninokuni- Shiroki Kiyoshi Hai no Joou, or Ninokuni- Queen of the White Sacred Ash).

Two entriely different games sharing the same first name, on two entirely different platforms. Try not to mix them up again *wink*
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Monday, September 6, 2010

Bit.trip Fate Trailer

Written by pikaby

The fifth game in the WiiWare series, and it's now a 2D shooter. Trippy, and Commander Video's involved again. Hopefully more forgiving than Runner.
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Saturday, September 4, 2010

Kirby's Epic Yarn Nintendo Power Scan

Written by pikaby

Can't believe I missed this. The text is large enough to read when the scan is zoomed in to full-size, so I won't go into detail on what it's about. It explains a lot of things, including why Kirby can't eat up enemies in this game. Fascinating!



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Pokemon Black/White- Yanappu, Hiyappu, Baoppu

Written by pikaby


Another 2chan leak (thanks Pokebeach!) from what I assume to be the next issue of CoroCoro (the one containing the Black Document before Pokemon B/W's release). Yanappu will be joined by two more monkey Pokemon to form a trio, the fire monkey Hiyappu and the water monkey Baoppu. They also learn the 3-on-3 advantage move Acrobat.

Gimmick Pokemon for 3-on-3 confirmed. Pokebeach claims all three appear in Dento's Gym, meaning, whoa. The first Gym to not have an element type. That means the three-colored Gym Badge (think back to the video which showed the badge being won from Dento's Gym)....yes, it all makes sense now.
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Pokemon Black/White- (Rumored) Starter Evolutions

Written by pikaby

Revelaed on 2chan days ago but I didn't want to post them up here- it was just a rumor after all. But here they are anyway,in their full glory. God knows where these pictures were taken.


Tsutaaja line


 Pokabu line


Mijumaru line

Shocking, right? You'll WANT to think these are fake because man, do they look ugly on the first glance. But stare at them for five more seconds and the designs start to click. Not bad now, right? Tsutaaja's final looks like a graceful king snake, Pokabu's looks Rhyperior-level tough, and Mijumaru's final imitates Swampert's look. It being down on all fours isn't impossible, there is a species of otter which gets down on all fours too. Giant otters do that (thanks Pokebeach!)

Anyway, if you thought those were fake, think back to the anime character sheet. Remember Mijumaru and Tsutaaja's second level evolutions on there? Yep, they're here.
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Sonic Colors to feature co-op multiplayer

Written by pikaby



This is the first I've heard of multiplayer of any sort in a Sonic game. The co-ops seem to take place in worlds separate from the single-player mode, but don't mind me- go see and research for yourself! I'll just sit back and wait for the review scores to roll in for Sonic Colors (which will probably be quite positive).
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PAX 2010- Fluidity

Written by pikaby



A new Wiiware game developed by Nintendo themselves. Tilt the screen to control a body of water around to solve puzzles....eh. The idea is meh, and has been done before in a much more interesting manner by Mercury and LocoRoco. Still, this water-based game worth watching out for, if only for the fact that Nintendo made it and if your Wiiware library is looking a little dry *gets shot*
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PAX 2010- Kirby's Epic Yarn trailer and boxart

Written by pikaby



I don't think I've ever seen a Kirby game get this much coverage in my life. Epic Yarn is the darling on E3 and looks set to impress again at PAX, where there'll be more playable demos (probably the same ones with the extra HUD stuff tacked on). The amazing thing is even after the first E3 trailer and the recent Japanese Minna no NC trailer, this shows a lot of all-new gameplay, and older scenes expanded on to show new stuff, like the fight with the fiery bird.

The box? NoA aren't breaking the trend set by Super Star Ultra- happy Kirby is here to stay, just the way he should be. He's just too cute to look angry~


Whatever the case, this is something big for Kirby. More so than Metroid Other M, I want this. Now.
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Friday, September 3, 2010

Kirby's Epic Yarn Japanese Trailer

Written by pikaby



And hopefully the start of even more amazing things to come. Epic Yarn looks as adorable as ever, and a bit of the story is shown here. Kirby wants to eat the strange yarn Maxim Tomato (typical greedy sackbag), and suddenly a monster appears out of it and sucks Kirby int a world of yarn and cloth materials. It's like Canvas Curse, only on a console version. Even King Dedede's here, though the circumstances of his appearance is still not known.

Cute trailer. I want more!

Kirby's Epic Yarn, or 'Keito no Kaabii' as it will be known in Japan, will be out on October 14 (JP) and October 17 (US)
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Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Pokemon Black/White- New Minna no Nintendo Channel videos

Written by pikaby

And three of them too, lasting a meaty 5 minutes each. I won't spoil the cool-looking bits for you guys, just watch them (If you weren't impressed with Reshiram and Zekrom yet, you will now or your money back)! Makes you wish you lived in Japan right now, doesn't it?




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Nintendo 5-Star SummerCon Final Report

Written by pikaby


The forum's SummerCon event is now over! Read on for all the details of what happened in the last 3 months.

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Metroid Other M: Mixed Opinions

Written by pikaby

A new Metroid game. This should have been awesome. This should have been hyped up to galactic proportions, up to the same level as a new Mario or Zelda game. This should have gotten Nintendo fans pissing in their pants and keeping their watchful eyes on the internet every second of the day, drinking in every last new detail they can before the imminent release date. Came it did, but it passed without a fangasm-induced hurrah. At all.

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