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This is the story of New Super Mario Bros. Wii
We know many Joystiq readers don't want to read spoilers on the site. That's why, for your sake, we've carefully posted the intro movie to New Super Mario Bros. Wii after the break. The upcoming 2D platformer returns the series to its roots, but adds a number of features that make it "new" -- it says so on the box. New power-ups and the addition of multiplayer radically change the feel of NSMBW, but we're not sure if gamers are prepared for the revolutionary new story featured in this latest adventure. Check it out after the break. [Via GoNintendo]
Peach ate Mario's cake
It seems the glorious baked treat that Peach offered Mario at the end of his arduous Nintendo 64 adventure is long gone. She dumped his podgy butt in the moat and ate it all for herself, and seemingly continued to enjoy royalty snacks for some time afterwards. Peach has plumped up, and now you can buy her!This eBay auction comes down to a matter of preference. Do you prefer slim, active Peach or hedonistic, pampered royalty Peach? Let you wallet do the talking. The idea of a plus-sized princess is actually pretty interesting. Someone should totally make a game out of it, although we're sure it'll never happen.[Thanks, Alejandro!]
The World Revolves Around a selfish princess
Global A's Sekai wa Atashi de Mawatteru (The World Revolves Around Me) is an RPG with a fairly unsympathetic lead (even more than Tidus!) -- a "selfish princess." She actually has power to be selfish as well: she can use "selfish commands" to change the terrain within 8x8 areas of the map. Using "selfish points" she can change the landscape, the kinds and numbers of monsters that appear, and even item frequency.While out rebuilding the world, the princess can also enlist the help of "partner" creatures to help her fight the other monsters. We don't exactly know how this game is going to work, but it looks like an interesting cross between and RPG and a god-game.
'We're sorry, but your Princess is on another cupcake'
Quick, call your mom, your sister, whomever has the baking skills in your life. Tell them that they have a difficult task ahead. You desire some cupcakes that compare to the look and, we're fairly certain, the delicious taste of these treats presented above. Well, maybe we just desire some, but what's good for us is good for you, right?[Via Boing Boing]
Around Azeroth: Do you believe this is Desolace?
Where would you guess this beautifully lush landscape was located? Would you believe in the very heart of grey, dismal Desolace? If you find that hard to believe, you've probably never ventured very far into Maraudon (and I can understand why you wouldn't bother -- completing the dungeon requires a marathon play session), as the heart of the instance is all tranquil pastel colors and luminous waterfalls. Pyrana of Scarlet Crusade sent this shot in, noting, "I've never seen such serene visuals anywhere else in the game."Do you have any images of equally serene parts of the game world? We want to hear your stories (and see them!) on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!%Gallery-1816%
A new princess for Super Mario Galaxy?
Crowned and blonde, just like our fair Princess Peach, this new gal materialized in Famitsu's latest preview of Super Mario Galaxy. The Japanese magazine identifies her as Rosetta, but doesn't clarify whether or not her name bears any deeper meaning or relation to the famed translation stone.Those of you who fear any drastic change to your beloved franchise or the expected routine need not worry -- Rosetta won't be replacing Peach's role in this intergalactic adventure. As has been stated several times since the game's announcement, Mario will be touring the cosmos in search of his kidnapped love, Ms. Toadstool.
Disney Princess: Magical Jewel almost has good art
Surprise! Disney Princess: Magical Jewel has somehow managed not to be a Bejeweled clone! It even has Jewel in the title and avoided it. Instead, it's a jewel-collecting side-scrolling platformer starring a bunch of Disney princesses.More surprising, rather than using generic character art for their character portraits, the developers went "off-model" to render the Princesses in a sort of cut-paper style. With shading. Okay, we don't know what to call it, but it's a style, and it's nice.The bottom screen doesn't fare as well, looking a little amateurish and flat. But, hey, that's one more nice-looking screen than we expected!
Disney Princesses to bring Magical Jewels to the DS
Disney announced plans to release a DS game as part of their new Disney Princess line of video games. Called Disney Princess: Magical Jewels, the game asks players to "recover magical jewels and replenish the power of a kingdom." We don't know what kind of game it will be, but a Bejeweled clone seems like a distinct possibility. The DS game, like the PC/PS2/Wii game Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey, is designed to be simple enough to be a suitable first game. Never mind that the DS, with its fragile touch screen and general droppability, isn't really the safest choice for a first system. Some kids seem to get by okay, so maybe we're worrying too much!
Princess Games -- you know, for girls
Disney announced a new line of video games today based on their popular Disney Princess merchandising. Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey, also being released on the PC and Playstation 2, will enable players to create their own Princess to fulfill the goal of "restoring order to kingdoms wreaked with peril." We're guessing 3D platforming, but we have no idea. On the one hand, we bristle at the idea of "games for girls," but we can't deny that Disney Princess is already quite popular. We only hope that Disney doesn't betray their fans' love of the franchise with a junk game.
The Abridged Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
We've gawked at speedruns before, but this one is unique in that it's a speedrun of a Wii game. Daniel Hart recorded himself completing The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess in an incredible 5 hours and 39 minutes. That beats our best time by roughly infinity. We didn't watch the whole thing, because five and a half hours, while short for a Zelda playthrough, is long for a video. Honestly, the speed-goatherding in the first segment is entertainment enough for us. But if you're stuck in Zelda, or need some strategies, this would be a great resource since the dude knows how to play.[Via Aeropause]
Nintendo's Zelda replacement policy
Have you been plagued by the Zelda: Twilight Princess sky cannon bug? We've got good news and bad news for you. The bad news is obvious: you were plagued by the sky cannon bug. The good news is that Nintendo will replace your disc, allowing you to pick right back up where the bug torpedoed your game. If you're suffering from this bug, just send your game disc to Nintendo, along with a note containing your name, address, phone number, and the circumstances of the error, and Nintendo will ship you a replacement.The shipping address:NINTENDO OF AMERICA ATTN: CS ADMIN 4900 150TH AVE NE REDMOND WA 98052-5171
Nintendo team playing with Miis in Twilight Princess
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Nintendo_team_playing_with_Miis_in_Twilight_Princess'; During an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto, MTV's Stephen Totilo threw out a speculative question: Had Nintendo experimented with using Miis in Zelda: Twilight Princess? Miyamoto answered that, in fact, the developers at EAD had in fact been playing with that feature! After completing the game, the team started experimenting with putting Miis into the Twilight Princess engine, just for fun.So, working at Nintendo is so awesome that programmers continue working on their games after they've shipped for recreational purposes. That is a shining endorsement if ever there was one.The MTV Multiplayer site is set up so that it's impossible to link directly to the story; you'll have to scroll down or search for "Nintendo's Miyamoto On One-Handed 'Mario,' Miis In 'Zelda".
President's Day surprise: Jefferson (?) in Twilight Princess
Even after the day, the spirit of President's Day (sure, why not) continues in Videoland. Zelda Dimension posted this picture of a painting found on a wall in Zelda: Twilight Princess, and it looks an awful lot like Thomas Jefferson ... or maybe George Washington? Or maybe dust? Apparently, one of the NPCs is a student of American history. We love finding secrets in Zelda, but we don't like being confronted with a blurry texture in a Wii game. Maybe the Zelda Dimension blogger was using composite cables, and that's why the picture is blurry? Yeah, that's the ticket!We look forward to seeing the Zelda timeline theorists chew on this one.[Via digg]
Zelda tops a million
Well, that was quick. Turns out, Link's latest adventure is quite the popular one as NOA's VP of Marketing, Perrin Kaplan, confirmed to IGN that The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess has sold more than one million copies in the Americas alone. Now, she doesn't say if this figure is exclusive to the Wii-based Twilight Princess alone, so we'll just assume this figure reflects sales of both the Wii and GameCube version.Shocking news, we know ...
New Zelda for Wii already deep in development?
Scientists have shown that it takes the average human a really really long time to fully complete the spectacular Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Heck, even we're not done with it yet. But our secret source (also known as Game Informer) has tipped us off that the next Zelda, built from the ground up for the Wii, might be a lot closer than we thought. The same article also brought us the possibly distressing news that Phantom Hourglass might be delayed until late 2007. Agh!Is anyone worried that the Zelda series might not be able to top its most recent entry? It may be quite some time indeed before Twilight Princess is knocked off her throne.[Thanks, Andres!]
The WTF Factor and the Burning Crusade
Timothy Burke has posted an interesting article over at Terra Nova about "WTF" in the New Year. If you haven't been a gamer for long, you might not know "wtf" is slang for "What the Frak" (OK, that's only if you're a BSG fan-- the normally accepted meaning is a little more graphic). Burke, however, means he's ready for experiencing something new in Azeroth-- something he doesn't have down pat.It's true, after you've run UBRS about 50 times or so, you've pretty much got it down to a science. You know what to do with the pulls, you know all the sayings Rend and Nef shout out, you know to tell Awbee to quit his stupid whimpering, and you know that the dragons in Drakk's room can't be slept. It's not that it's not fun-- it is. But like Burke says, it's fun in the rehearsed ballet sense rather than the-- well, the "OMGBBQWTF just happened!!?!!" sense.So like Burke, I too am hoping Blizzard delivers on the WTF in the expansion. I can't wait to run instances I don't know yet, or figure out how to do pulls I've never done before. I can't wait to see something drop that I've never read enviously about on Thottbot, or find an easter egg that I haven't yet heard about. Burke uses the Son of Arugal as an example of a WTF moment, but I'd say even something like the end of Maraudon, with the beautiful landscape, the epic bosses, and that gnarly Princess-- that's the stuff I can't wait to see when Burning Crusade finally comes around..
The numbers are in
It's been over a week, folks, and Nintendo has issued the first of many self-congratulatory press releases concerning the Wii. Eight days after launch, the Wii has sold more than 600,000 units in North America. Furthermore, their flagship title The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess has sold 454,000 copies, achieving a rather ridiculous 75.67% attach rate to the console itself. Nintendo seems to be holding fast to their claim to ship four million units worldwide by year's end, and many expect the company to deliver close to 200,000 units weekly to North American outlets. Not quite enough, though, is it?On the eBay front, 27,000 Wii units have been sold in auction at an average price of $412.53. For comparison, only 15,000 PS3 units were sold (at an average price of $1186.39). Take that, PS3 eBay people! Well, we suppose an average profit of around $500.00 after shipping and tax isn't too bad. The Wii is still very much one of the hottest items of the holiday season, and sell-outs should be expected at least through the end of the holiday season. Good luck, Wii-goers!
Goats in and fish on! Our time with Zelda part 1
While Kyle's observations and documentation are spot-on for how we felt late last night as we slowly chipped away at the large, granite stone that is The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, we feel we must talk a little bit more about what we've seen in the game. Kyle's humorous documentations were spot-on, however we must say there were plenty more and our ealry impressions, being around 4 hours into the game, are very good.Note: Spoilers ahead
Wii hits the assembly line
We think Nintendo wants us to know that the Wii is packaged and ready to go because they recently released a handful of pictures depicting packed boxes and full assembly lines in their North Bend, Washington warehouse. Some of the pictures even show a game by the name of Twilight Princess being boxed and sent out, sure to bring joy to some gamer's heart or a lot of grief if it contains some type of water-based dungeon.
The REAL party is in my DS
We're not based in Kansas City, which isn't so much a bad thing, but it does keep us from receiving certain newspapers on a regular basis. One writer for the Kansas City Star had a few things to say about the DS Lite and a certain game for it known as Super Princess Peach. Stating that she "never thought I'd be one of those people who would choose a video game over a party," Jeneé Osterheldt has first-hand felt the fever we all so frequently fail from: Nintendo fever.So whether you want to consider her personal experience a downward spiral of self-loathing and disgust akin to how one gets hooked on, and subsequently dies from, drugs or a clever look at the appeal of gaming in the modern world, it's all an interesting read.[Via Go Nintendo]
