I finally caved and got New Super Mario Bros. 2 for the 3DS a few weeks back. I had so many other games on my plate that this game took a backseat, which is surprising because I’m usually right on board for a Mario game. Especially a 2D one.

But there’s something… hard to describe in regards to my feelings on the New Super Mario Bros. series. I liked the DS one as “old was new” and it was the first real Mario side-scroller since Super Mario World.

The Wii one was alright, and I’ll admit I was excited for the novelty of four players at once, though I REALLY wanted this for the character selection:

Nintendo makes a fortune off of nostalgia and “tried and true”. I’ll never understand the yellow and blue Toad thing.

And the Wii U game is certainly very colorful and pretty, but since the initial “wow” factor of the original game, and ultimately culminating with the 3DS title, I’ve reached one conclusion:

The New Super Mario Bros. series are my least favorite adventures of the famed Italian plumber.

Don’t get me wrong: The game is fun, and it plays heavily off of Super Mario Bros. 3 nostalgia Read the rest of this entry

Tonight, I got to see a preview of Wreck-It Ralph in 3D.

If you want the short of it, it’s now one of my “Top 10″ Disney animated films.

The long of it, however, is best explained for a number of reasons. And you can start with the poster:

Basically, this is Toy Story for video games. What happens when the arcade closes for the night?

This movie has a TON of cameos, making Captain N: The Game Master look pale by comparison. You can spot dozens of games in the 30 year time progression of the arcade, from Star Wars to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, to a virtual “Who’s Who” of classics. That’s nothing to say of the cameos of characters running around in “Game Central Station”. These two scenes alone are going to cause a lot of frame by frame scanning when it comes to home video. One cameo moment actually shocked me how “true to character” they were. I won’t reveal anything, but there are a few delightful nods. Surprisingly, however, is how devoid of Nintendo this movie is. Yes, Bowser is in there, and there are two other nods, but Nintendo was Read the rest of this entry

While I think that Nintendo’s E3 conference had some good things in it, there was more ambiguity to the whole event than I would have liked.

The eShop finally went live last night after a two-week “delay” (well, more like two weeks and over 3 1/2 hours, since they didn’t release the update until 9:40 P.M. PST instead of 6:00 P.M.). I’m still convinced that this was for a “surprise reveal” at E3, not to mention a way to tie Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening into the whole Zelda 25th anniversary event.

The shop itself is nice and easy to navigate. It seems that Nintendo is going to have several shops within the shop to find more specific types of games. Excitebike 3D was an appreciated free item, and while the 3D isn’t mind-blowing, it is a very neat and noticeable effect. The Pokedex 3D is also a free item, and is fun enough to play around with, though I’m sure Pokemon fans will get much more out of it than I will.

As for the conference, it was broken down into three areas: 3DS, the new console, and… I guess the Wii. I think Nintendo has written that Read the rest of this entry

Geez, all I’ve been doing is writing about gaming milestones and anniversaries, but like Pac-Man‘s earlier event this year, this one can’t be missed.

Today is the Japanese anniversary of the Super Mario Bros. series. I say “Super Mario”, instead of “Mario” because Mario himself has been around since 1981.

I didn’t get my NES until my 12th birthday in 1987. I remembered seeing the game in the arcades, but was amazed how finally the accurate experience was recreated at home.

Favorite memories of the series? The first time I beat the original game. I could clear everything else, but not get through World 8. My parents told me that if I couldn’t beat the game, I wouldn’t get Super Mario Bros. 2 for Christmas. I beat it that day. Super Mario Bros. 3, I waited forever for after seeing screens in that early Gamepro, and remembering those great Nintendo Power strategy guides. There was also Super Mario 64, which amazed me as Mario could run to a tree in the distance and not only climb it, but do a handstand and backflip off of it. Super Mario RPG was amazing to me as it Read the rest of this entry

Even with the recent run of Wii problems, Bit.Trip Runner has pulled me back in, and Super Mario Galaxy 2 with its heavy nods to previous titles… well, I guess I’ll hold off on shelving my Wii just a bit longer (though I’m still anxious about this new system eating discs. Unproven, but I’m gun-shy at this point).

I’ve been mixed on the whole Super Mario Galaxy 2 thing. I loved the first title, I expect this will be a fun game, but it doesn’t fill me with the sense of “Wow” like the first title did. The first game is still one of the best looking titles on the console, but with this one looking so similar, I feel like overall, I’ve tread this ground already. The initial sense of awe just isn’t present here.

But then, I tend to view the 2D and 3D Mario games as a trilogy, following a set pattern:

2D Mario
Super Mario Bros. – The one that laid the groundwork for the series and platforming in general.
Super Mario Bros. 2 – The “odd duck” of the series. Still fun, but a very radical departure that not everyone appreciated.
Super Mario Bros. 3 – Took Read the rest of this entry

I have to admit that I was pleased in regards to several upcoming offerings for the 360 and Wii during this week’s presentation. While Sony put out some things, I’m just more interested in the two mentioned companies for this outing (that said, I’m still waiting for Dissidia for PSP).

Microsoft

The biggest thing was Project: Natal and Milo to me. Natal sounds a bit like either the EyeToy or Sega’s Activator peripherals, but I’m sure the technology has advanced a bit since then. I watched the preview on Xbox Live last night, and conceptually, if it does what it claims, it could be really cool.

Milo was… creepy. That’s not a bad thing despite my choice in adjectives. It’s creepy in that accurate way Seaman was, where he man/fish hybrid could understand you and engage you in a fairly responsive conversation. Milo can read facial expressions, tone of voice, “see” things you do. The demo seemed cool, then the last few seconds got amazing. It’s made by Peter Molyneux (of Fable I and II fame), and he always makes big claims. As long as Milo doesn’t follow me around complaining that he doesn’t have Read the rest of this entry