DrRandle

The Princess on High! And a Pokemon!

This is it, the end of my standard Smash Bros. blog. I have some more ideas on the back burner. You might see a 'bonus round' shortly, so keep an eye out for that. Something with 3rd party characters, I'm thinking...

Peach

I think Super Princess Peach was a damn great platformer, and I think it's a shame that there was nothing borrowed from it for Smash Bros. Granted, Melee gave Peach a great arsenal as it is, but I think her Final Smash was incredibly weak in Brawl. It would have been the perfect chance to feature some of Peach's hilariously sexist "emotion powers." Perhaps she blasts into twin torrents of tears, forcing anyone hit by them to be pushed back by physics, making her a mobile pushing platform.

And for alternate outfits, we could scrounge up one of those sporty outfits from Mario Tennis or Super Mario Strikers?

Zoroark

If any of the new Pokemon has a chance at being entered in by themselves as a Smash contender, I think it's this fellow right here. Easily identifiable, and actually the first Pokemon of the fifth generation to be revealed, Zoroark has kind of a neat little design. That could translate into some very stealthy and predatory combat style. A master of illusions, there could be a lot in the way of maneuverability for this character. For example, there could be a defensive move where Zoroark clones herself to make a mirror image, both of which move in opposite directions of the same way, but only the player knows which one is the real her by way of a left or right direction when triggered. Alternatively, she could turn into another player's character (including nameplate) to try and confuse opponents.

Zoroark also has a host of dark type moves for specials, including Night Daze, which could be her Final Smash. In Pokemon, Night Daze does damage and can cause a chance of lower accuracy. To translate this to Smash, it could be an area of effect that's dimmed out, causing it to be more difficult to see, but also does damage to foes over time who enter it.

I think you'll see this character in whatever future Smash we have, even if it's just as an Pokeball.

Skytown

Easily one of my absolute favorite locations in the entire Metroid series, Skytown was an absolutely breathtaking place to behold. From it's retro-future steam punk structures and robots to it's hauntingly gorgeous music, to the exciting zip-line transport system... it was just incredibly memorable. a stage set in this local could be a few floating platforms along the bottom in a downwards parabola, with two platforms towards the top joined by a zip-line. This zip-line could be triggered by hitting it with a regular attack, sending the player zipping to the other side of the stage.

Music of Skytown

Metroid Prime 3 - Skytown

Not the traditional battle theme you're used to from a Smash game, but it's.. it's just so stunning when combined with the rolling cloud vistas. How could you want anything else?

Metroid Prime 3 - Gandreya Battle

A great battle theme that combines the gorgeous, sweeping vocals with the chaotic beat and dissonance of the Prime series' two different music core music elements. Appropriate for Skytown.

Metroid Prime 3 - Dark Samus Battle

The great thing about the last Smash Bros. was "My Music." If you didn't like a particular song or remix, or just REALLY liked any one song, you could adjust how often it shows up while playing. In this case, if you don't like the slower, more elegant tunes, then something more combative like the "Dark Samus Battle" might be for you.

OC Remix - Kindred (Super Metroid - Maridia)

I don't think I've posted enough songs with lyrics, and this is a great OCRemix. The haunting tune may have been designed for underwater, but the loneliness of Skytown fits it just as well, I think.

Super Metroid - Orchestral Piece # 4

I stumbled upon this gem and decided that I'd use it because it's pretty boss. The Brinstar part is my favorite.

Mass Effect - Uncharted Worlds

Filed under "Because I was listening to it while I wrote this and thought 'fuck yeah,'" and not because I think it will ever actually happen, "Uncharted Worlds" is everything I love about science fiction music. Here's an 8-bit version because [flimsy excuse not found]. And here's a metal version I found while looking for the 8-bit version.

And that's it. The official end of my Smash Bros. coverage. I want to thank everyone who stuck around and anybody who visited for letting me vent my thoughts and wishes. I hope we enjoyed, if nothing else, this hopeful celebration of all things Nintendo (and then some!)

-Make it a nice day.

I'm sorry that roughly 15 games and knowledge that good games don't get popped out like Call of Duty every year aren't enough. Enjoy your Kinect and Bing: NOW WITH GENRE SEARCH!

If you think about it though, what could they have done? EAD is just finished Super Mario 3D Land on 3DS, Retro is only a year and a half out of Donkey Kong Country Returns, and probably isn't in any sort of a finished state for an announcement, Sakurai just finished Kid Icarus and probably has his name and a working title on a Design Document for the next Smash, a brand new Zelda is still warm on the table... Unfortunately it would seem that the timing for new game announcements is in a poor alignment.. there's nothing to announce right now. The fact that they're launching with any sort of a Mario Game, a new Pikmin, and something that at least teases ideas for bigger Zelda, F-Zero, and franchises with Nintendoland shows, to me at least, that they're aware of the crossroads they're in.

Don't get me wrong, I'm bummed that there wasn't a list of new announcements, either. Especially at that hour long press conference last night. But it just seems to me that this year was kind of a down-year for announcements, due to development cycles. But to me, that means that next year will be a hum-dinger. Although, also, keep in mind that Nintendo is intent on these smaller Connect presentations that might spread some of those announcements out also.

New Super Wario Bros! Attack on the Twilight Realm!

Apparently I wasn't paying enough attention when I reached the end of my list, and totally stacked Wario and Waluigi together. So what the heck, I'm just going with it. On a quick side note, I'm kind of bummed that New Super Mario Bros. 2 on 3DS isn't actually "New Super Wario Bros." since it's all about gold-nabbing... but that's just how I would have done it.

Wario

Another one of my favorite Brawl characters, Wario had a lot of uniquely bizarre moves to show off. He moved almost as frame-less as Mr. Game and Watch, and his unusual fighting style was just about everything I could have hoped for it to be. So there's not really anything more to do in the next Smash for him. One thing to note though: Wario was the only character in Brawl who got an alternate costume, so this time, because I'm a jerk, I think we should add one more. His more recent WarioWare outfits, featuring a yellow suit and top hat. Because top hats, dog. Top hats.

Waluigi

Waluigi would be a little difficult to base anything off of. He's never been in a proper game, so anything he does would have to be based off his multitude of sports games. Even his Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl was him attacking with a tennis racket. Well for Waluigi, I would like to sample some of that and bring the unique sort of power base that he was given in Super Mario Strikers: Charged for the Wii.

In that game, a lot of his super powers were based off these thorny, purple vines. He made a whip of them, he summoned walls of them to back off defenders. Using this thematically, I think a really cool power structure could be built for Waluigi. Per the usual, his Alternate Costume will be a unique outfit somewhat similar to Wario's WarioWare outfit, and his Final Smash could be something thorny-viney, or just dropping a bunch of bob-ombs.

The Palace of Twilight

So I've done the bright and cheerful Skyloft and I've done the terrifically 'toony Spirit Tracks Train, so I figured I'd give Zelda fans that level with a darker edge. Taking a look at the Palace of Twilight from The Twilight Realm, it looks like it was practically built to be a stage in Smash Bros. You have a main platform in the center, with a smaller platform off to the right and a gap in between. Thrown a few hovering pass-through platforms overhead and I think you've got yourself a stew going.

Twilight Realm's Haunting Melodies

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - Dungeon (Sound and Drama)

This rendition is much more chilling, so I hope you enjoy it.

Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - Face Shrine

I'm not just in love with this song because it's good, but this moment was just a haunting realization that turned the my world view of this game around.

Pictobits - Legend of Zelda 2

A great NES arrangement.

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - Boss Theme

A high-tension theme, great for any battle.

Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - Zant

I think part of what makes this theme work so well for Smash is how it evolves and grows as it time progresses, just like the battle does!

Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - Demon Lord Ghirahim (Final battle)

Brilliantly flamboyant, menacing, and dramatic all at the same time, Ghirahim and his theme go together wonderfully. Dem vocals!

And tomorrow will be my last one of these Smash pieces, at least for a while. Thanks all for letting me just sort of get it out of my system. I suspect in a year or so, at next years E3, we'll finally get some new Smash details and I can compare notes. Until then, I'll be back writing about the industry at large.

-Make it a nice day.

So Darksiders 2, Assassins' Creed 3, Rayman Legends, ZombiU... just to name a few... these aren't hardcore franchises? Because these are all launch window, half of which I just named are exclusive titles. And certainly those, stacked with a new Mario and Pikmin 3 (which will be "launch window") is a hell of a lot more impressive than a gamecube ported Zelda, a busted ass Red Steel, a surprisingly engaging Raving Rabbids (minigames!) and Wii Sports. Oh there was also a DS port (Trauma Center) and Excite Trucks which..was actually really cool. But if we count that, three 'hardcore' games at launch, one of which was totally garbage, and that would be the last we would hear on the hardcore front until Super Paper Mario came out the next March or April. And the 3DS launch was equally sparse, and that turned out quite nicely, and the original DS even moreso.

My biggest point is that a launch is just that, a one time start with so much more to come. Nobody has ever had a great launch. Not one system. It will get better, and I honestly view this as one of the best system launches I've ever seen.

Solid performance makes up for the overall lack of newness.

Word has it that Nintendo's show was a bust; a disappointment. I disagree; I'm actually quite excited for Nintendo's newest system, and I'm patient enough to know that in time I will be rewarded with bigger and better things. But for now? I'm okay with not one, nor two, but three new Mario games, one of which is a sequel to my favorite series: Paper Mario. I'm a sucker for a platformer, and even though I'm not expecting them to blow my mind away, I'm alright with a comfort zone for now.

Tiny, Tiny Yoshi's!

Also: I really effin' love Pikmin.

So yeah, maybe I'm more easily impressed, but virtually nothing that was mentioned wasn't something that I will be owning in my collection. That's a win in my book, as far as conferences go. Not everything's going to be "Teh Megaton"

IGN has a write up on ZombiU (which is apparently named in such a bad way because it's a callback to Ubisoft's first game from 1986, called Zombi) that makes this game seem fantastic. I'm hoping we're not doomed to a new Red Steel, and that ZombiU really has the potential I'm looking for in a Survival Horror game. The idea of using the Wii U GamePad to rifle through corpses inventories, punching up a data pad while being attacked, and sniping.

Nintendoland was something I'm rather interested in. Yes, it's 'just' a mini-game collection, but nobody does them better than The Big N. Throwing in some IP Flavors like Zelda and Animal Crossing help make it more interesting than just another Wii Play, but also give me a craving for a nonexistent Zelda's Epic Yarn:

So god damned cute!

But there was more to be had! After the conference, Nintendo announced another game in one of my favorite franchises, Game and Wario. A new WarioWare is good news any day of the week.

The third party efforts are huge with Nintendo, and while not everything was a new announcement, the fact that Nintendo fans are finally getting their hands on a Mass Effect and Assassin's Creed is a damn good thing. On top of those we have new announcements like Platinum's P-100 and 5th Cell's Scribblenauts Unlimited. I'm a huge Scribblenauts fan, so that got me excited, and Platinum makes some of the best games today.

Platinum's P-100

Lego City: Undercover is a comedic take on the Grand Theft Auto style of open-city game. Disguises, vehicles, and a brilliant charm are all apart of this original title by Travelers Tales.

Some other third party wins were shown off in a sizzle real, including Darksiders 2, Trine 2: Director's Cut, Rayman Legends, and Tekken Tag Gournament 2, all with unique features for Wii U.

This game looks and sounds great in motion.

The 3DS was barely scratched; apparently that's for tomorrow's bonus press conference. What was shown however was pretty much all great. There was (finally) some footage from the new Castelvania: Mirror of Fate, as well as Disney's Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion and a 3DS version of Scribblenauts. Also, just throwing this back out there, Heroes of Ruin looks amazing. The first party efforts were slim (because of the later conference) but strong. There was another New Super Mario Bros. title (adding a 2 at the end), and featuring gameplay focused entirely on collecting coins. Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon looks great. I pretty much need Paper Mario: Sticker Star inside of my mind grapes right now.

Again, maybe it's just me, but that's a lot of games I'm going to be picking up for the Wii U, and that's not really even all of them thus far. It's a fairly solid start, as far as I'm concerned, to what will undoubtedly be a great system.

-Make it a Nice Day

Four press conferences in all give me plenty of material, so I beg of your pardon if I just whip through some of it.

Microsoft - Showing Vulnerability

A picture says a thousand words. Surprisingly, a picture summary for Microsoft's conference, just says the same word a thousand times.

I don't know if anybody else has an experience that mimics my own, but over the last year, I have fallen further and further away from my Xbox. There's fewer and fewer reasons why it I should go to it over my recently upgraded PC. Steam makes everything cheaper, almost everything is multi-platform, and everything just runs better. I know not everybody has a great computer, but it is becoming increasingly cheaper, and the more it does, the more Microsoft should worry. Go play Assassin's Creed Revelations on the 360, and then find a video of it running on a decent computer, and the difference is night and day in most situations. Same goes for Mass Effect, Kingdoms of Amalur, Skyrim, Deus Ex... it just keeps going on like this. As it stands, I plan on getting Dead Space 3, Resident Evil 6, and Borderlands 2 are just a few of the games I'll be getting on PC. It's not because of the mouse vs. controller thing; I still tend to use my controller hooked up to my PC. The games just look better, especially when trying to play co-op and not having to do split-screen. Now maybe I am alone on this, but the number of people going down this route must surely be growing, right?

Oh, and. what the hell is this?

Look, I love me some Dance Central, and I was sold at the name, but I did not want to see 5 minutes of Usher on stage. I'm here to watch games, not people dancing.

I suppose I like the idea, I mean heck, I liked it when Nintendo presented it last year. I just don't know if the SmartGlass is something I'm going to be using a whole lot. Why is data on a crashed ship in Halo 4 beamed to my Tab when it could just as easily, and far more conveniently, be a codex entry in-game? I'm just not seeing a whole lot of use for something that isn't going to be always on and always in my hand like the Wii U Gamepad, but maybe I was too stunned by the five minute presentation on searching Bing by Genres to think of anything. I thought to myself. "Oh.. okay. I didn't know you COULDN'T search by genre, but alright, that's a... I don't know why this is an announcement and not like a patch note but.. Oh... so now you're going to demonstrate it. Because I can't grasp the concept of genre? I guess? Holy fuck, are you still going? Multiple genres? We get it... It's not great. Oh and now in Multiple Languages? Really."

EA - Still doing EA things

I don't really have anything negative to say. I'm really psyched for Dead Space 3 with co-op. SimCity looks nifty. Otherwise it's just modern shooters and sports games, which aren't terribly my bag.

Ubisoft - More like Boobysoft, am I right?

Aisha Tyler is amazing. Her stage presence is commanding in a few different ways, and she shifts between them seamlessly. She does off-color humor well, and then just goes straight into professional speaker mode without missing a beat. It's really unfortunate she was paired off with a sweaty palmed, know-nothing "YouTube Celebrity" named Tobiscus? Tobias? Tobascus? I don't care. He was painful on stage and ruined what would have been an otherwise stellar MCing by the Lady Tyler.

If Ubisoft had anything to bring me, it was this:

If there were two things, well here you go:

Watch Dogs came out of nowhere and just snatched everybody's attention. One part Grand Theft Auto, one part Orwellian distopian future, and maybe even a dash of Deus Ex atmosphere, this game really has a lot going on for it. I want to see how well that holds up.

And how about that FarCry footage, eh? That was... yeah...

Finally, I'm glad to see Ubisoft backing up the Wii U, just like they did with the Wii. The mysterious (and terribly named) ZombiU and Rayman Legends seem poised to be two great early launch titles. Hopefully they fair a bit better than Red Steel did.

Sony - Tells you how great you look to distract you

Nothing makes me feel loved like being told what a wonderful consumer I am. And you know, I was cool with the Smash Bros. rip-off that was Sony All-Stars. I mean heck, if it's still half as good as Smash, then it's gotta be worth some attention, right? That was until this happened.

That shit is just gross. Don't put your game under searches for your direct competitors game that you totally lifted from. That's bad pool, through and through.

Also, it would appear that Sony has just left the Vita to die a slow and painful death already. I thought that would take at least a year. There were two titles announced for it, both of which were scaled down, 'lite' versions of bigger console games. There were a couple of 'shared platforms' like the aforementioned Sony's All Stars Plus Some People That Have Nothing to Do with Sony game. Other than that? Nothing. Not only did they not announce anything else, they announced that they would have a mobile competitor to their own damn handheld in their new Playstation Mobile lineup. I'm not really sure what kind of game they're playing but it honestly doesn't look like they've got a full deck to play it with.

Overall today wasn't bad at all. I got some really neat games to look forward too, a couple of surprises. Criterion's new Need for Speed + Burnout Paradise hybrid looks stellar. Atlus announced some crazy beat-em-up/RPG for the 3DS called Code of Princess. Given the relative obscurity of the title, and the mainstream presses general knack for ignoring the 3DS, I think this one is going to go under most peoples radars. I'm not sure if it's even that great, but it certainly looks promising enough.

What are you excited about, Internet at Large? Tell me, for I must know. Leave a comment down below.

-Something about a good one.

Life is But a Play! The Demon and the Knight!

Sooo much E3... but first, I gotta talk Smash.

The Veteran - Meta Knight

Meta Knight was came onto the scene, and immediately everything was "Oh, well of course that's his special. Oh, and of course he does that." Aside from some potential balance tweaking, I don't really see what else they could add to him in a new Smash. A great alternate costume would be the Galacta Knight from more recent Kirby titles.

The Newcomer - Skull Kid

Perhaps it would be more accurate to say "Majora's Mask," but regardless, we have yet another great villain from the Zelda series. Now, conventionally, there's probably not a lot for the Kid to do to directly reference the game, but there's a lot in spirit. Skull Kid is mischievous with a side of god-like powers, so his fighting style would probably be best represented as a trickster and a trap layer. Lots of unconventional movement and dodges, laying surprises around the field, maybe even summoning AI pests for indirect assaults. All the while he floats around none to dissimilar to Mewtwo, that giant mask twitching about. Perhaps his specials could be twists on the Link abilities... throwing bombs and direction altering gusts of wind.

His Final Smash has two great sources of potential. For starters, he could summon down the evil Moon onto the stage, nuking a portion of it. There's also going berserk and turning into Majora's Wrath , flying around the stage and whipping fools about.

The Stage (Literally) - Grassland

Another nostalgia-laden stage, it's time to hit up Mario 3 for some classic goodness. In case time has gone by and you've forgotten how it works, Super Mario Bros 3 is essentially a stage. Hence why things have shadows on what appears to be a wall in the back, and why many things are suspended from the air by ropes. This type of level just screams with stylistic possibilities that range from leaving it retro looking to making it more stage-like. Also, there needs to be a white box that you can hold down on and drop through for no real reason other than to go "JUST LIKE IN THE GAAAAAME!"

The Grassland Music

Super Mario Bros. 3 - Athletic

Those were the days.

Dr. Mario RX Online - Sneeze

Now, we could just remix one of the original Dr. Mario tunes once again, and I"m totally okay with that. But I thought it would be neat to give this rather peppy tune a shot.

Super Mario 3D Land - Theme

Catchier than a zombie plague, and certainly more pleasant, the theme to Super Mario 3D Land just never gets old.

Paper Mario - The Koopa Bros.

A great representation of the Paper Mario series and a reference to a song that came from Super Mario Bros. 3. Sounds like a perfect fit to me.

Mario Paint - Creative Exercise

Your childhood was hollow if you don't know this song by heart. As a fellow tip to Wario Ware: DIY fans, if you title your game "Mario Paint" at creation, you'll unlock the soundtrack to it while you're slaving away at your meticulous sprite-work.

Here's to hoping for a Smash announcement of any sort tomorrow. I'm hopeful, but I don't find it likely that we'll see anything.

-Make it a nice day.

Thanks for the heads up, @believer258. I replaced it. : )

T Minus One and Counting...

Nintendo's giving us a head start with a look into some of the features and tech surrounding the WiiU today, and there's quite a few talking points. But first, if you haven't seen it, here's the video:

The Controller - New and Improved

Unsurprisingly, recent rumors of the Gamepad redesign were true. The 3DS style slide-pads have been changed to proper sticks, complete with click-down buttons, there's been some comfort-enhancing adjustments to the form factor, and a few new goodies have sprung up.

There's the "NFC Reader" in the left hand side beneath the D-Pad. According to Satoru Iwata, that's for 'reading and writing' data to and from the remote. The quickest thought here is that they're jumping into Skylanders territory, allowing for the transfer of data between figures or trading cards. My immediate thought for this? Get ready to drop a lot of bucks on Pokemon figurines.

You'll also notice a TV button. The WiiU pad can be used as a universal remote for your TV, as well as switching your gameplay video feed directly to the gamepad's screen, in all it's HD glory. Hopefully the display has improved since last year. Either way, taking a break from the action to drop a deuce is no longer necessary; Now Assassin's Creed 3 can come with me, and ensure that nobody else ever wants to touch my WiiU controller.

The Other Controller - Going Pro

Along with the bulky, somewhat intimidating WiiU Gamepad, Nintendo announced the Gamepad Pro, which is exactly what it sounds like. It's basically the Classic Controller Pro, with the sticks and face buttons/D-Pad inverted to match the WiiU's form.

Yes, it may resemble a 360 controller, but I would like to point out two things on that. One, the 360 layout is exactly like the Gamecube's, only with uniform face buttons. So technically they 'copied' first. Two, there are only so many designs for a controller out there, and comfortable is comforter. And okay, a third thing? Nintendo's controllers always feel the best, and that D-Pad won't be garbage, so there's that.

It's worth noting that this controller appears to have a USB port at the top, implying that a rechargeable battery pack is built into it. So that's good news, eh? This also seems to solve the "How are we playing Smash Bros. on this if they only allow one WiiU Gamepad?" thing that's been bothering me. You'll also notice that there's 4 lights, implying that all 4 controllers can be used at, forsaking the need for, or in addition to, the WiiU's tablet-like controller.

The Galaxy at Your Fingertips - Miiverse

This is a totally Nintendo thing right here. Their answer to online gameplay is unique to say the least. I don't think we're looking at a final version here, but more of a prototype, but either way I'm very intrigued. There was talk of a sort of Forum like structure, allowing people to leave thoughts and tips on a game, completely accessible from the WiiU's menu while the game is on. I prefer to see it as the evolution of the notepad feature in the 3DS.

They also talked about video conferencing, which is amazing, as well as interactivity with PC's, 3DS's, and Mobile Phones. It's very clear that Nintendo has spent some time going "alright, they want online? We'll give them online." I'm admittedly reserved... When I say this is "total Nintendo," that means there's a good chance there's going to be some freakishly jarring safety features to keep people from drawing penises and turning the video conferencing into Chat Roulette.

There's also a neat sort of annotation feature that's going into live games, which I think will end up being implemented similar to the way Demons' Souls uses it. People can leave notes of empathy, frustration, or useful tips along the stages, to be implemented however developers see fit. Hopefully there will be a way of keeping spoilers out of there, or at least limiting it to friends only (which I imagine will be the case for most of these features), and overall it seems like a really cool way to interact with other Nintendo fans.

Oh, Never Mind That Mario Game

Aside from the cryptic "He's baaaack" left next to Samus' icon in the screenshot above, Nintendo showed off that annotation functionality atop a strikingly New Super Mario Bros. looking game. Somehow, they did this without even mentioning Mario, in what is one of the most painful teases I have ever seen. Look at those mountains in the back? That shit's right out of Super Mario World, and they just brushed over it. Nintendo, you sly bitches.

What I find most interesting is that, again, while showing off the annotation feature, they seem to be hinting at New Super Mario Bros. WiiU features. Notice how one person talks about being a flying squirrel, and another mentions a cute baby Yoshi that inflates. Curious and curiouser, I am.

Those are my thoughts and updates on the WiiU. Tomorrow's going to be a big press conference day for everybody BUT Nintendo, so there will be tons of ground to cover. I'll be posting my thoughts and another Smash blog, so keep tuned.