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Q-Games working on unannounced DS game
Q-Games alternates between independent development and "second-party" status with Nintendo. That's just one of the perks of having helped create Star Fox, as founder Dylan Cuthbert did. Lately, they've been making the PixelJunk series of high-res downloadable games for the PlayStation Network, having finished up Star Fox Command for Nintendo.Cuthbert revealed in a Siliconera interview that, in addition to a new PixelJunk title, the company is working on another DS game for Nintendo. Will it be a Star Fox sequel or something interesting? As developers of the Bit Generations title Digidrive, Q-Games has shown a flair for abstract stuff.
Dojo update: The bird flies again
For the past fortnight, we've been positioning all dojo updates and spoilers past the post break, so if you've been avoiding anything that could ruin Brawl's element of surprise, move on now! The rest of you are advised to click through for one of the juicier updates in a while...
Nintendo dominates list of most annoying game characters
Nintendo might well have created some of the most enduring characters of all time, but it's more than capable of concocting annoying ones. At least, that's the message we drew from Cracked.com's list of video game characters that inspire rage -- of the fifteen personalities listed, around half appear in Nintendo games.While we wouldn't normally post about such lists, there's very little room for complaining about many of these choices. Time and again, Slippy's utter ineptitude has seen us launching spittle-flecked rants at our screens, Waluigi possesses a voice akin to nails on a blackboard (though this blogger will admit to finding him useful in Mario Kart DS), and Tingle is annoying for reasons that should need no explaining whatsoever.The only unfair inclusions we can see? The Dog from Duck Hunt, and Animal Crossing: Wild World's Mr. Resetti, whose bluster we actually find entertaining. Not that we're cheats.[Via Digg]
Dojo update: Fight above Corneria all over again
That shot of the Great Fox can mean only one thing. Well, two things, actually. Firstly, it means that the dojo is back, and that our mornings have some purpose once more. Secondly, it means that Brawl will include yet more Super Smash Bros. Melee stages, to accompany the return of Hyrule Temple.Corneria, Yoshi's Island, Onett, Brinstar, and Rainbow Ride are the returning stages, with Corneria comfortably our favorite of the revived bunch. It's also worth nothing that Brawl's total number of confirmed stages is now 25, with (we'd estimate) another dozen or so dojo updates left to add to that total. And, in the unlikely situation you ever get bored of those, you can always make your own.%Gallery-10206%%Gallery-6869%
Promotional Consideration: Drop Dead Zelda
Promotional Consideration is a weekly feature about the Nintendo DS advertisements you usually flip past, change the channel on, or just tune out.Though we featured a number of Zelda commercials earlier this week, like Vanessa Williams, we've saved the best for last. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, arguably the finest handheld game ever released, had its share of unusual ads, relying on corny rappers and wacky puppetry to sell the ARPG in the US and Japan. In the UK, however, gamers were treated to the slapstick humor of one of Britain's most distinguished comedians.
Decent sale on imports at Renchi
We love region-free consoles! Not only does it allow us to play games that never get released in the US, but it also gives us freedom to choose the cheapest version of worldwide-release games. Renchi.com has marked down a load of DS games, and there's plenty of stuff for US gamers to enjoy. First, the Japanese versions of US games. You can get Yoshi Touch & Go (Catch! Touch! Yoshi!), Mega Man ZX (Rockman ZX), Star Fox Command, the just-released Honeycomb Beat, and a few others for $10. If you want a uniquely Japanese experience, there's a bunch of stuff including Mawasunda!!, a lot of miscellaneous non-games and puzzle games (including an amusing-looking coloring game), and a nice selection of D3's Simple Series stuff. Stock is rapidly diminishing, so go browse right now.[Thanks, joe!]
VC Friday: Math wars
This week, Nintendo's putting a little Star Fox action on the Virtual Console, but we're not calling it that. No, no, thanks to silly trademarks, it's Lylat Wars. Whatever name you use, it's still one of the greats among shooters on Nintendo systems, and it's a nice cap to all the other shooters they've released. It's no surprise they're only releasing one other title alongside this one. What is that game? Well, long before Brain Age, we had Donkey Kong Jr. Math to make math fun, and now you can have it on your Wii. Math and monkeys apes -- can there be anything better? Donkey Kong Jr. Math - NES - 500 Wii points Lylat Wars - N64 - 1000 Wii points
Star Fox 64 arrives, Virtual Console does barrel roll
After last week's serious focus on kingdoms waging war, it comes as a relief to see Nintendo's Virtual Console service returning to its former status, namely that of an anarchic menagerie of anthropomorphic troublemakers. This week, we have foxes recklessly piloting spaceships, dragon's uttering foul words and mutated turtles kicking people in the face. Just who's in charge here? As you might have surmised (admittedly, the headline is a big help), Star Fox 64 (N64) tops the list of retro goodies arriving on the Wii today: Star Fox 64 - N64 - 1,000 points ($10) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - NES - 600 points ($6) Dragon's Curse - TurboGrafx 16 - 600 points ($6) All three titles are available for download now. What isn't available for download at this time, however, is an explanation as to why we're expected to shell out 100 points ($1) above the NES norm for Konami's turtle brawler. Perhaps we're being fined for that terrible pun in the last sentence.
Koji Kondo and GDC make beautiful music together
The Game Developers Conference has been trying to get Koji Kondo to come speak about game audio for ten years, according to an introduction by Tommy Tallarico. The wait seemed well worth it, as the famed Nintendo composer's first public appearance in the United States drew a standing ovation from the hundreds-strong assembled crowd today.Kondo, who has worked on the music for the Mario, Zelda and Star Fox series, among others, stressed three main points in making good game audio: Rhythm in game audio is not just having a catchy beat, but matching your beat to the animation and button presses in the game. "If the music doesn't reflect the rhythm of the game, it might as well be piped in from a source outside the room," Kondo said through a translator. Balance in game audio means not just balancing things like sound effect and music volume, but also bringing individual audio pieces in a game together as a single composition, with a defined introduction, bridge and ending. This is why Kondo always submits pieces to his director four or five at a time, so they won't be given equal weight but instead be balanced in the correct way. Interactivity in game music can be as overt as a faster tempo when time is running out in Super Mario Bros. or as subtle as slight phrasing changes in each trip through the overworld in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Kondo stressed that "this ability of the video game medium, which is not possible with CDs, movies etc., is a very interesting and unique feature."
Nintendo's Koji Kondo joins Video Games Live lineup
If one plans to append adjectives to Nintendo's music composer, Koji Kondo, the word "legendary" makes for an obvious start. The Legend of Zelda, along with Star Fox and Mario, are just some of the properties Kondo has contributed to since joining Nintendo in 1984. Attendees of this year's Video Games Live concert will be pleased to learn that the man himself will be making an appearance and performing "one of his favorite melodies" on stage. Can't say we've heard that one -- could someone hum a few bars?The event, which brings GDC to a symphonic end, is being held at Nob Hill Masonic Auditorium, San Francisco on March 9 at 8PM. Other highlights in this year's show include Martin Leung with a new piano arrangement, an acoustic medley by original LucasArts composers (Monkey Island!), a Chris Kline Contra presentation and a performance by voice-over artist, Dee Baker. Get your tickets here, if you please.[Via Press Release]
DS releases for the week of January 22nd
Can you guess what title we're excited about this week? It shouldn't be too hard, since we have made it more than a little obvious that we're gung ho for Hotel Dusk, which is also making its Japanese debut this week.DS releases: Hotel Dusk: Room 215 Inuyasha: Secret of the Divine Jewel For releases in other major markets, check after the jump.
Readers pick best webcomic: Star Fox innuendo
How dare Scott Ramsoomair take perfectly innocent lines from the Star Fox franchise and turn it into the subtitles for his dirty, dirty fantasies? And shame on you, dear reader, for picking it as best game-related webcomic for the week. Shame, shame, shame ...Second place went to NekoYasha's Moron Mines comic and third place was taken by The Joy of Tech. Thanks to everyone who voted and be sure to let us know of any gaming comics you stumble upon this week!
The awesome just keeps on coming: more Virtual Console games [update 1]
Because the eight we just posted weren't good enough, we've got another ESRB confirmation ... this time for thirteen. We'll let the list do the talking for us:NES: Excitebike Ice Climber Dr. Mario Mario Brothers Ice Hockey Soccer Super Nintendo: Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars Kirby's Super Star Super Metroid Kirby's Dream Land 3 Nintendo 64: Mario Kart 64 Starfox 64 Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time "Mario Brothers", which is technically the name of the arcade title already coming to the VC at launch, is presumably the actual Super Mario Bros., which failed to make it across the Pacific in time for November 19th. The biggest name on this list is certainly Mario RPG, a collaborative effort between Nintendo and Squaresoft USA (now known as Square-Enix). Besides being an absolutely excellent game, it shows that Square-Enix is committed to bringing some of the very best of its SNES golden-era RPGs to the Virtual Console. We don't want to say it, we shouldn't, really ... but dammit, we need to ... Chrono Trigger?[Thanks, Cian C.!][Update 1: Dammit, we can't count.]
Speculating on the Virtual Console [Update 1]
Play-Nintendo has a "reliable list" (yeah, we know how those are) of games that are rumored to be on the Virtual Console. But it looks reasonable, and in fact, some of the titles are already confirmed by various sources. Their list is packed with classic titles, and some of them (oh, Castlevania, how we love you) are expected but still exciting, and others many of us still play on lazy Sunday afternoons (Ocarina of Time, anyone?) If this list turns out to be the real deal, we may have to take some extended breaks from our actual Wii games. A fanboy's life is full of difficult choices. Play-Nintendo also reports that their "source" confirmed five brand new games for the Virtual Console, but they couldn't reveal the details. We'll see. What are you dying to see? Frankly, we think Super Mario Bros. 3 is a necessity, if only because we know there'd be videos everywhere of fanboys reenacting scenes from The Wizard. If you could add any three games to this list, what would you choose? Full list after the jump.
Spoileriffic Star Fox screens
Siliconera is all about some Star Fox Command now that they've gotten their hands on screens of the various endings. The images don't seem too obvious with the spoilers, but check at your own risk -- you've been warned.The game is scheduled to hit the U.S. soon, so if you're the type who wants to see nothing of the ending until you get there, then you don't have long to wait. For the rest of us, who like the pretty, pretty pictures, have at it!
Starfox Command video review
Adblock Mad video review master 'JoshuaZimmerman' brings us this lengthy look at Starfox Command, but we get the distinct feeling he may not really care. He spends most of the nine minutes going over gameplay and options in mission and wi-fi modes, blah blah blah, lets us know how he feels about the sound and the dialogue, blah blah blah, and overall, offers positive impressions of the game. We think, at least. Maybe we weren't reading between the blah-blahs ....
Star Fox DS details surface
Eurogamer is reporting that the upcoming Star Fox Command for the Nintendo DS will include rumble functionality when it hits our shores on August 28. According to the latest Japanese mag Famitsu, players can now enjoy that same shaky feeling they had in Metroid Pinball or Warioware Twisted on 30 different stages in Star Fox. Something else to look forward to is the game's multiplayer aspects. Star Fox will take full use of Nintendo's super sweet Wi-Fi connection and give wannabe pilots the ability to battle each other four at a time -- ad hoc players can take on as many as 8 at a time.This game can't come fast enough. It's getting a little tiring just beating little noobs on Tetris every night.
A return to series roots for Star Fox: Command?
According to a translated Amazon listing from Japan, the upcoming Star Fox: Command for the Nintendo DS will have multiple endings. This most likely implies a return to the multi-path stage advancement from the original Star Fox and Star Fox 64, which is good news for long-time Fox fans. Also listed are the capabilities for both online play and eight-person local wireless competition. If Nintendo can manage to make the stylus control scheme intuitive and natural, we could have yet another killer-app on our hands.As wonderful as Google's translation abilities are (Strategic map 3D shooting of the new feeling which is due to touch operation), any bilingual readers out there care to give us a slightly less mangled version of the information?[Thanks Redfield!]
Upcoming DS games dated [Update 1]
No doubt attempting to organize the masses of people who constantly barge into stores at random intervals and demand games that aren't due for release in months, Nintendo has sent out a handy "release list" thing. If we understand this correctly, it's supposed to tell you on which day some of their major DS games will be set loose upon the public. That's Nintendo for you--always innovating.June 5: Big Brain Academy™June 5: Magnetica™June 11: Nintendo DS™ Lite (although that depends on where you're shopping)June 26: Sudoku GridmasterAug. 28: Star Fox DSSept. 18: Pokémon® Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue TeamSept. 25: Mario vs. Donkey Kong™ 2: March of the MinisOct. 9: Clubhouse Games™Oct. 30: Children of ManaSadly, it looks like the new Kirby game and Yoshi's Island 2 will only be released during or after the cheerfully explosive holiday season. Don't let that stop you from demanding it from the store clerk next week.[Update: To clear up any confusion - this list encompasses Nintendo titles only.]
Star Fox DS now 'Star Fox Command'
Nintendo looks like it's finally ready to shed the obligatory 'DS' titling format used for its first-party franchise line* by renaming Star Fox DS to Star Fox Command. While the official website reflects the new naming, the game's logo has not yet been updated. Star Fox Command is scheduled for release on August 28.*Includes: Mario Kart DS, Super Mario 64 DS, and Tetris DS.
