TGS 09: Ninokuni Japanese Trailer

I'm so excited for this game even though I know nearly nothing about it. It's this games pedigree that make me yearn to play it on my Nintendo DS, first is it's a level 5 RPG and second is that the art is done by FUCKING STUDIO GHIBLI!!! That is all that needs to be said in my opinion so go enjoy this beautiful trailer.

Video Games | Ninokuni | TGS 09: Japanese Trailer

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From the DS to the Retro Gen

I have decided that my Mario Edition DS is a waste of time for me, the games are expensive to a degree and I find myself not enjoying the DS style of play with the stylus at all. Also, my DS sits for a week or two at a time on my desk, that isn't right considering I have other things I want, that need money I don't have.

Since it looks like my DS will sell for what I want I decided to think over why I am more excited for the Retro Gen than I am for the DS I currently have.

1. Gameplay. It took me a while to realize why I didn't play my Gameboy Color anymore, and why my DS sits around for a good length of time. The casual gameplay of the DS numbs me to the point I don't play anymore. I want the portability for games in a decent package, and the Retro Gen lets me play ANY Genesis game, even region locked games on the go. There's no compromise in gameplay and it would be sick to play Ghostbusters on the Retro Gen.

2. Value. I spent 120 dollars on this DS and have no wish to buy anymore games for it because I need money as it is, the games are expensive at 23 to 30 bucks a piece, and I have too much junk as it is in my gaming collection I haven't touched. It'd be better to put my money I invested in the DS market to better use such as NES games or to fix my Sega Genesis which I have to have regardless if I get the Retrogen. And I want the Retrogen regardless what happened with my DS, two handheld systems is going to be too much to deal with. And I start college in two weeks so the DS is the easier thing to let go for me.

3. Features. The DS wireless play and the double screen stylus techniques were a nice idea, but I don't like the latter and so it bores me whenever I can't mash buttons in my games. What the Retro Gen has like its predecessor it's emulating (Sega Nomad) is the TV out function that lets me play off the handheld as the controller on a big tv. That is pretty cool, and also the Retro Gen has 6 buttons, 3 of them are turbo buttons.

4. Games. DS games really killed it for me, some of them are good like most of the ones I have. But in a large amount of the games they either are ridiculous titles like cooking games, use the stylus for almost the whole game which annoys me, or the fact that I can't get games for less than 23 dollars in good condition. The Retro Gen allows me to use FULL Genesis cartridges which cost as little as 5 bucks a game on Ebay. And these games are console ports which means they are a richer experience for me being games that weren't held back by the gap between handheld and console game designs.

So that's why I am changing my preferences in the handheld gaming world, I am not into casual gaming but I prefer to have the portability. The Sega Nomad had its critically acclaimed Genesis library on a handheld, which I wish others could do today. I actually miss the Cartridge era, and the fact that the DS games are so dang small drives me insane that they need big cases and cost 30 bucks.

I'm sorry, the DS is great but it just numbs me to the point that its not worth having if its not enjoyable as I thought it would be. At least when the DS sells I can preorder my Retrogen and get it delivered straightaway upon release.

My Style

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Nintendo DSi: for new customers only

I am the proud owner of a Special Edition Mario DS Lite, and yet almost sold it because of the recession squeezing my wallet. Having said that I am hooked on Nintendo handheld gaming as I was with the Gameboy Pocket, Gameboy Color, and Game Boy Advance before I gave up on their handhelds for a while.

There have been many scenarios where someone comments on my DS Lite saying "are you going to upgrade to the DSi?", I can easily say no to that. Because between the last gen DS and the new DSi the games are accessible to everyone, I never upgrade when the games are still available to me. It's a much different scenario than say the need to upgrade from a PS2 to a PS3, theres significant difference in those consoles than the three handhelds of the DS lifespan of the Nintendo handhelds.

So after reading THIS article, I'd like to offer my opinion on potential buyers of the DSi.

If you have a DS Lite, don't bother. Losing the GBA slot will hurt because some of those buyers who like to collect the older stuff. I will even go as far to say the "fit and finish" of the DSi is inferior to the DS Lite, and even though I have a Mario DS I envy other special editions of the DS Lite. The DS Lite also has alot more color choices than the DSi.

If you have the first gen DS I say don't feel rushed to buy the DSi, put slowly save up for it. And only do it if the download titles appeal to you.

So in regards to the DSi, only new customers of Nintendo should apply. Heck i'd probably do it  for a DS Lite though, make of it what you will.

Note: Sometimes I wish I kept the box for my DS Lite, but it got so ruined I wouldn't like keeping such a tattered thing >_<

Frustrating Gaming Moment: Zelda Phantom Hourglass

Yesterday while being with the family I killed time by playing with my DS, I popped in Zelda Phantom Hourglass at a certain point and restarted the game since I had gotten stuck while on the Ember Isle. There was this door I couldn't open, and yet there stood a clue saying blow out the flames to illuminate the path. No, I wasn't foolish enough not to realize it was talking about actually blowing out the flames. I was expecting it meant the volcano and not the tiny candles around the door, I searched the map for some device to use and found none for a while.

So while pondering what to do I watched the Angry Video Game Nerd's review on Transformers for the Famicom version of the Nintendo Entertainment System. And the Nerd happened to point out the microphone on the Famicom, using Zelda to point out it's use in gameplay. So after putting two and two together, I realized of course the DS has a microphone but did it have a use in my situation. If I could blow, I could probably blow the candles, "so were the candles like a lock" I thought.

I tried it and it worked. I rolled my eyes at how simple it was, but for a Zelda fan, This was the first game I touched. And since i'm not a fan of cheating, I didn't look online...yet. Kinda funny it took the Angry Video Game Nerd to realize what I had to do. FINALLY! I can continue the game. It's been great after that, but dang, amazing how groundbreaking it seemed despite the weird looks I got from my cousins. Well how would you react if you saw someone you know blowing at a DS in a way you would for birthday candles.

Ironic, Funny, Priceless.

E3 2009: 'Scribblenauts' Demo Impressions

So, E3 is winding down now, and if I can think of one HUGE technology announcement that TOTALLY blew me away, it'd definitely have to be... Scribblenauts. No, not Project Natal, not Sony's motion wand... just Scribblenauts. Obviously, I'm not serious, but Scribblenauts does look to be packing some pretty interesting technology in it.

So, the concept of Scribblenauts is simple, type in various objects and you'll be able to spawn them and use them. Supposedly, you can type in anything and get anything. I don't know how true that is, but so far they seem to have a pretty impressive amount of stuff in the game. In this gameplay demo, they show off the spawning system, and manage to spawn a lot of varied and different items. They also show some physics-based puzzles, and a sandbox mode, which looks a lot to me like 2D Garry's Mod.

The game controls like your standard 2D platformer, but the spawning aspect of the game is pretty ambitious, and it'll be interesting to see how well it pans out when the game is released later this fall.

E3 2009: Impressions of 'The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks'

So, for a while now on the podcast, I've been pretty adamant about my distaste for the new Zelda game coming to the DS, Spirit Tracks. So, you'd think that when E3 rolls around, I still wouldn't care about it.

So now, I've seen a new gameplay trailer, I've seen a developer walkthrough, and yaknow what? I'm starting to like the game just a little more.

Now, don't get me wrong, I still hate the idea of traveling on a train, as opposed to exploring the entire world using your boat. A train simply gives you less freedom since you're limited by tracks. However, the new dungeon stuff looks pretty compelling.

For anybody who's played the multiplayer mode in Phantom Hourglass, they're taking one of the Phantom Knights from that mode and giving you control over him in some parts of the dungeons, creating some new types of puzzles to solve. For example, in the new gameplay trailer, they have the fire-resistant knight walk past some streams of fire, blocking them from shooting out, while link follows along on the bottom ledge. Also, all of the combat and dungeon gameplay seems ripped directly from Phantom Hourglass, which is a good thing, because that stuff was all very compelling.

Overall, I feel like The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks is probobly going to turn out to be the "Majora's Mask" of the DS Zelda games. Somewhat fun, but overall just not as compelling as the first game.