Smash Brothers
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Nintendo's Hideki Konno discusses the 3DS and the element of surprise
As E3 was coming to a close, we sat down with one of the men responsible for Nintendo's 3DS, Hideki Konno. Konno's official title is manager / producer, but because he's involved at such a high level with both software and hardware development on the 3DS, our conversation covered quite the range of topics. When asked about the handheld's performance in the last year, he drew parallels to the success of the DS that preceded it and he hopes that the 3DS will experience a similar growth curve. Due to the mention of the DS, we inquired about the possibility of a larger 3DS. While Mr. Konno wasn't able to confirm plans for a super-sized version of the current-gen handheld, he did express his affinity for the DSi XL's increased real estate -- he finds the larger screen is much easier to gaze upon. You can draw your own conclusions as to exactly what that means. When chatting about mobile gaming, we asked about the impact of smartphones on the outfit's handheld. Konno offered that Nintendo prides itself on surprising gamers with new "compelling experiences" that handsets can't provide. We asked if any of these new experiences would involve the integration of both 3DS and the Wii U, and Konno replied that he's confident about those explorations taking place in future. In fact, a version of the Smash Brothers series is currently being developed for both 3DS and Wii U simultaneously. He indicated that it would be hard to believe that the two versions being developed in parallel wouldn't provide some unique interactions between them and their respective platforms. Additionally, while it sounds like the Miiverse will only be available on Big N's next-gen console at launch, Mr. Konno communicated that -- depending out how well it's received -- we're likely see the social element brought to the mobile gaming arena, too. Michael Gorman contributed to this report.
Wii Warm Up: Best Brawl reveal so far?
As we get closer to (and yet, further from) the release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, there have been many exciting Dojo updates. Perhaps we're jumping the gun here, but what's been your favorite reveal so far? Could it be the addition of a popular blue hedgehog? Perhaps, the stage builder level? Maybe you're excited about the music, or the inclusion of a favorite character as an assist trophy?There's a lot to choose from, but we challenge you to choose one. If you really can't limit yourself, though, don't worry -- we won't hold it against you. We understand these types of decisions can be difficult sometimes.
Joystiq hands-on: Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
Hello, I'm Zack, and I had never played Smash Bros. until today. I don't know if that should be a confession or proclamation. Let it be both. Let the flaming begin.Super Smash Bros. Brawl felt frenetic. To me, it seemed like too much was happening on-screen to play with precision. But apparently people wring ever moment of control out of this fast-paced game. Just not the first time they play.In my games, Brawl always had a lot going on. A power-up poured out 2D sprites lifted directly from Advance Wars. Another caused a Nintendog to briefly paw playfully at the screen, for no reason other than to annoy us. I just laughed at the puppy as I was knocked off the platform to my loss.I like my fighting games with more of an immediate sense of cause-and-effect and without this power-up focus. But I could see the appeal of Brawl. It had so much happening that I was always entertained. And the sense of humor and strangeness -- Mario versus Sonic in a fighting game -- also hooked me.%Gallery-8530%
FF Dissidia magazine scan reveals Smash-ing possibilities
Here is Dissidia, the newly announced Final Fantasy game for PSP. Our less-than-infantile understanding of Japanese makes it difficult to decipher a recently leaked Japanese magazine scan. We understand that it's a one-on-one 3D "battle" game -- could this game be a fighting game, in the style of Smash Brothers? The pictures certainly allude to that. It isn't Ehrgeiz like we predicted, but we think it's pretty darn close. The game will reunite characters from across the franchise, including the Warriors of Light from the first Final Fantasy, and Zidane and Kuja of Final Fantasy IX fame.Nomura's Kingdom Hearts-esque character designs are in full effect, and the title appears to have some console-quality graphics. It may not be what most of us expected, but we can't wait to find out more.[Via NeoGAF; Thanks, Jamal!]
Wii Warm Up: Brawlin, Corrupting, or traversing the Galaxy?
Three huge titles are set to rock this year (unless they get delayed: Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. If you had to pick, in the stranded on a desert island with only one game sort of way, which would you choose? No ties and no also-rans -- pick one and declare it the winner!
