Presenting our latest multi-segment retrospective video series - a look through 20 years of Kirby!
We are presenting this in association with Nintendo World Report.
They are cool guys, and you should all check them out (and if you were
sent here by them, great to see you!)
In our final part, Kirby garners gamer attention on the Nintendo DS and reemerges onto consoles in full force. From the innovative adventure Kirby Canvas Curse to the fabric fable of Kirby's Epic Yarn to the four-player cooperative sojourn Kirby's Return to Dream Land, Kirby has really resurfaced among Nintendo's best these last few years. Where will he go now? If these past two decades have told us anything, it should be quite an experience either way.
Hope you enjoyed it! Give us comments on the series and what you want to see in the future! :D
Presenting our latest multi-segment retrospective video series - a look through 20 years of Kirby!
We are presenting this in association with Nintendo World Report. They are cool guys, and you should all check them out (and if you were sent here by them, great to see you!). We'll be posting the other two parts in the coming days, so stay tuned!
In this part, we examine the pink puffball's first five years of existence, complete with such games as Kirby's Dream Land, Kirby's Adventure, and Kirby Super Star. Can you taste the nostalgia? Either way, watch and enjoy! Big thanks to the online Kirby community which helped provide the multitude of artworks and boxarts and information for the games!
Nowadays, there are few cartoons that are as crazy and
unique as Adventure Time.While the
series has several moments reminiscent of video games, there has not been a
full video game release using the franchise, until now.Adventure Time: Hey Ice King, Why’d You Steal
Our Garbage? is the series’ debut video game onto the Nintendo DS and 3DS, and
D3 Publisher was showing off a build of the game at New York Comic Con for us
to play.While we were not permitted to
show showfloor footage of the game, we got to interview Senior Marketing Manager Fernando Bustamante about it
for you to enjoy in the video above.After having played a bit of the game, I will say that Adventure Time is
shaping up to be a fitting game for the show with great animation and humorous
monsters and scenarios.
In Adventure Time: Hey Ice King, Why’d you Steal Our
Garbage?, our story begins when Finn has a nightmare involving the Cosmic Owl
and Jake, but when he wakes up, his best dog buddy helps him feel better by
letting him destroy his secret teacup collection.Just as they run outside to start another day
of adventuring, the Ice King emerges to inform them that he has taken their
trash.Now while Jake is quite content
with this, Finn thinks something is up (and taking someone else’s stuff is not
right, even if it is trash), and so the two go on an adventure to get
their garbage back and kick Ice King’s butt, as always.
Adventure Time is an adventure game with
inspirations from a variety of games with a unique twist in the mix.The game is primarily a side-scroller in which players control Finn and Jake working together to progress
through the wilderness of The Grass Lands, The Candy Kingdom, and other memorable locations in the Land of Ooo.Initially, Finn and Jake have few means to
fight off the rock and sign monsters around, but over the course of the game, they can obtain battle abilities to boost their strength and fight enemies in a multitude of ways.The gameplay feels very similar to that of Zelda II: Adventure
of Link, and the callback to it only gets greater when you travel around the
map.In an overhead view, Finn travels
around the Land
of Ooo to his next
location, occasionally getting help from the shape-changing Jake to cross gaps and traverse the land. If they wander off the main path, however, monsters appear and can take the heroes into a random encounter!
Outside of the obvious callbacks to older adventure games, Adventure Time's gameplay is enhanced with the help of BMO, the heroes' companion gaming device. Once he joins the party, he takes up the bottom screen, and players can use him to see Finn and Jakes' stats, the world map, and their inventory. The inventory ranges from food to magic crystals, and using these items in-game can help heal the duo or temporarily boost stats or attack enemies on screen. Also, items can be used on each other, providing a boost of effects; for example, adding syrup to pancakes will boost the healing effect they provide. However, combining items incorrectly can do more harm than good; nobody wants ketchup in their milkshakes! I got to play the game from the beginning, and on the 3DSXL, the game looks very good. The character animations are extremely smooth, and the colorful worlds display very well on the 3D display. It looked like a diorama of the Adventure Time world, with highly-animated characters and monsters abound. The game did not have much in the way of voice-acting, but from what I was told, there should be more voice acting implemented in the final version of the game. How much, though, I do not know.
My experience with the game was good, but I must mention that the game is quite difficult to start. I found myself dying often in the earlier stretch of the game. I imagine that it was more my rushing through the demo than it was the game's difficulty, but even so, there are a lot of enemies to fight in each environment. I hope the later parts of the game experiment more with the level design, too, as I only really saw flatter landscapes rather than vertical and wide-open mazes to explore. I did not use the inventory system much through my playtime, but I suspect using BMO in conjunction with newly-acquired battle abilities will break away from any potential monotony. Of course, what chance is there for monotony in an ADVENTURE TIME game written by creator Pendleton Ward? Probably very small. Adventure Time: HIKWYSOG? looked great at the show, and while the mechanics were simple early on, it was just the opening of the adventure, after all. With WayFoward and the show's creator behind this game, I have a feeling it will be a worthy component to the series and our handheld collections. When it comes out this November, I have a feeling I will know what time it is.
Dementium developer Renegade Kid has announced its next title for the Nintendo DS, a racer entitled ATV Wild Ride.
ATV Wild Ride is a racing game in which players grab hold of four-wheeled all-terrain vehicles to race along 24 unique tracks, based in a number of locations including London and Russia. There are dozens of tricks to perform to earn boost necessary to win. The game also has multiple modes, including a four-player multiplayer mode.
ATV Wild Ride is set for release in January 2011, published by Destineer.
Renegade Kid is an Austin-based developer formed in 2007 by Jools Watsham and Gregg Hargrove. The developer's biggest franchise is Dementium, a horror first-person-shooter for the Nintendo DS. Along with that, the developer has worked on Moon, a sci-fi first-person-shooter, also on the DS. A Wii title entitled Son of the Dragon was in development stages but was canceled in 2009. Besides this game, the company is prepping to work on Nintendo 3DS.
Sega announced yesterday that it is making a WWII-themed Captain America companion game alongside the upcoming movie for all consoles and handhelds for 2011.
Captain America: Super Soldier is a third-person action game in which players control Captain America as he ventures to the castle of Red Skull. Using his shield in free-flowing combat, Captain America must face off against Iron Cross, the forces of Hydra, and whoever is fighting for the nefarious Red Skull.
The game will use the shield in a variety of ways, from attacking multiple enemies at once, to solving puzzles and scaling walls. Considering what military creations lay inside the confines of the castle-turned-base, players better be prepared to use that shield and other super-soldier abilities if they want to stay alive.
The 360 and PS3 version of the game will be produced by Next Level Games. Next Level Games is most remembered for its Nintendo-published Super Mario Sluggers franchise and its remake of Punch-Out!! for the Wii, but it has also produced other titles such as Spider-Man: Friend or Foe and Transformers: Cybertron Adventures. Other versions appear to be developed by High Voltage Software, a developer best known for its Wii ventures, including The Conduit, Tournament of Legends, and the still-unreleased The Grinder.
In Nintendo's Fall Conference in Japan, Nintendo unveiled a Pokemon-based typing game for the Nintendo DS, entitled Battle & Get! Pokemon Typing DS.
Pokemon Typing DS is a title in which players have to type the name of specific pokemon as well as special attacks in order to defeat each pokemon they encounter. The game also has a number of unique modes besides directly attacking wild pokemon, but not much was demonstrated outright.
While the game appears to allow typing on the DS touch screen, each copy of the game will come bundled with a wireless keyboard through which players can type without having to learn how to use the stylus quickly.
The game is slated for DS in Japan for 2011.
Developer Genius Senority was formed in 2001 and is comprised of teams which had previously worked on Dragon Quest and Pokemon. Mostly focused on developing unique products in the Pokemon franchise, the last products the company has produced include 100 Classic Books for DS and Dragon Quest Swords alongside Eighting and Square Enix.
Announced through Nintendo's Fall Conference earlier today, Nintendo and HAL are bringing a new Kirby game to DS: one with a multitude of Kirbies in it at once!
While it was only shown briefly in a clip of many other DS titles, this was one of the few announcements for the original DS system. The currently untitled Kirby game appears to be controlled like its first DS entry, Kirby Canvas Curse, where Kirby is controlled solely with the help of the touch screen.
What makes this game different is the large multitude of Kirby characters on screen at once. From the screens it appears that players will have to maneuver each Kirby through the world, each doing its own thing otherwise. As for power ups and the like, it seems hard to tell exactly what will be available this time around.
The unnamed Kirby title is slated for a 2011 release for DS.
Unveiled through a Nintendo Power preview, Nicalis will be bringing Cave Story to DSiWare in the near future.
The details for the title are scarce as the announcement came from the upcoming Nintendo Power's preview of the issue. What is known is that the game will be the entire Cave Story adventure, with the map and menu accessible on the bottom screen. The game has received the blessing from Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya, the original creator of Cave Story, just like the WiiWare version released earlier this year.
The DSiWare version is already completed and undergoing final testing phases internally before being submitted for Nintendo's approval. A release is not set as a result of potential problems in this stage.
Nicalis producer Tyrone Rodriguez had previously made mention that the company was working with Pixel on expanding Cave Story to other venues, and it appears that DSiWare may have been one of those outcomes. There is no telling if other products from Pixel will be coming in the future or not, but it might be safe to assume at least one more Pixel title will be coming to some platform in the future courtesy of Nicalis.
Nicalis is an independent developer and publisher formed in 2007 focused on creating highly entertaining products, usually alongside other independent publishers to bring their work onto consoles and handhelds. The company's sole release thus far is Cave Story on WiiWare, which launched in the US this past March. The European release is still pending. Nicalis is also working with Nifflas on NightSky, a puzzle platformer with a unique silhouette design, and Nigoro which has been developing La-Mulana, a massive adventure title expected for release this year.
Nintendo has announced that it will be dropping the price of the DSi and DSi XL on September 12th to $129.99 and $149.99, respectively.
The two handhelds will be undergoing a twenty-dollar decrease, and the DSi XL, the most expensive of the DS handhelds, will now be sitting at the price at which the original DS launched.
Nintendo will be unveiling the final pricing, software, and launch dates for the upcoming Nintendo 3DS at the end of September, and with the price drop of the DSi systems this early in the holiday season, rumors are arising that the handheld will be releasing THIS year rather than next, as Reggie Fils-Aime had stated at "The Late Show," in June this year. Furthermore, the price drops suggest a price for the 3DS around $200 when it launches, but no information is concrete.
The Nintendo 3DS is the next handheld from Nintendo, focusing on displaying 3D without the use of glasses. It can be played with different strengths of 3D using a slider, and it will be backwards compatible with the DS library.
The Nintendo DSi is an expanded DS handheld which contains a new OS and two cameras. The cameras point in and out of the system, allowing for games to use the cameras as a control device. The DSi XL, which launched earlier this year, is a much larger DSi handheld made for those who prefer larger screens and a more accessible viewing radius. Furthermore, the DSi handhelds have DSiWare, akin to WiiWare, which are downloaded titles through a Nintendo online store.
As of now there is no word as to whether or not DSiWare can be purchased or even transferred to 3DS when it launches.
Presenting Wacky Wednesday, a weekly article in which 3RM brings out the weird, the wacky, the whimsical, the wild, the wildebeest...wait. No, not that. We here at Third Rate Minion take the time to help spread the oddities of the Internet, whether they are extremely unique Rom Hacks, independent games, odd gaming-related videos, or any other intriguing media for the 3RM audience.
Wacky Wednesday #1: Wario Ware: D.I.Wily
In March 2010, Nintendo released WarioWare:D.I.Y. in North America. D.I.Y. is a WarioWare title for the Nintendo DS which allows, for the first time in the series' history, to develop their OWN microgames using the game's engine. Every microgame made available in it was made using the same toolset, even the main development team's. There is also a WiiWare title, WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase, in which the games can be made playable using the Wii Controller's IR Pointer instead of the DS Stylus.
While the game's only input method for microgames is tapping the screen, the amount of flexibility the game provides, from graphics to music and even gameplay variations, is astounding. What a better way to demonstrate the abilities of microgame creators than with a throwback to one of the most retro-looking franchises of today: Mega Man!
Youtube user and member of the NeoGAF forums, Jarosh Barksdale had a vision: create a collection of microgames which depict the evil Dr. Wily as he prepares for another fight against the Blue Bomber. The result is a collection of nine microgames, all shown off in the video below, followed by a playthrough of the games randomized.
Here is a list of the games, as given in his video page:
Spikes! - Dr. Wily tests the spike shafts Dumpster Claw - Dr. Wily steals old robot masters from Dr. Light's dumpster Door Jumping - Dr. Wily tests the boss doors for their... "jumpability" Blocks! - Dr. Wily and Guts Man collect disappearing blocks Eyebrows - Dr. Wily gets a much needed eyebrow trim (with some help from Cut Man) Teleport - Dr. Wily tests the teleport hatches and tries not to turn into THE BEE Fueling up - Dr. Wily gets gas for his saucer Wily shops - Dr. Wily gets some shopping done before the big day Revenge - Dr. Wily finally defeats Mega Man
Note that everything is made from scratch using WarioWare's engine and not uploaded sprites onto the DS itself. It is quite a feat, and Jarosh certainly deserves credit for this extensive project.
While most people with a PC or IPhone already own PopCap's popular and unique flower-defense title, Plants Vs. Zombies, currently slated for a release on Xbox Live Arcade, is now coming to another platform: the Nintendo DS.
The DS adaptation will feature all of the engaging gameplay featured in the original version, including Adventure, Survival and Puzzle modes, and mini-games, as well as new and exclusive game content.
The press release does not specify on the added content, and the size of the DS screens leave some question as to how the game will work design-wise. Regardless, one should expect nothing short of greatness when PopCap is involved with their projects.
The game is coming in January 2011 at a price of $20. The XBLA version will be releasing this year with a new Co-Op mode. The Plants Vs. Zombies series has been lauded as one of the most successful titles in PopCap's history, having been among the top PC and IPhone Apps sellers since the game's release. It will be interesting to see if lightning can strike two more times for the series.
While some gamers might not entirely care for the MyBaby series, SouthPeak Interactive and Majesco are locked into a conflict over this casual game series for the DS and Wii.
According to Gamepro, SouthPeak Interactive, the publisher of the first two MyBaby title in the United States, is arguing that it deserves the ability to publish the third and subsequent MyBaby titles in the future.
However, Majesco, known for publishing the Cooking Mama franchise, is publishing the third MyBaby title. What puts the New Jersey-based publisher in the right is its relation with French publisher Nobilis. Nobilis is the current holder of the MyBaby franchise, and it has given its rights out to Majesco.
Even in the land of casual games, drama is around every turn. At least Maury is not necessary this time around.
