Archive for Gaming
Earthbound: A profession of love
January 29th, 2009 • 1 comment
Tags: Earthbound, Final Fantasy, Game, Mother, Ness, Nintendo, Nintendo of America, SNES, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Video game, video games
Once upon a time, Nintendo released a game called Earthbound for the Super NES. Unless you were gaming back in the 16-bit era, you may never have heard of the game. It stars you as a young boy called Ness who has been chosen to save the future from the mighty villain Giygas.
Let’s back up a bit. My awakening to the RPG genre was Final Fantasy II for the Super NES—in its own right a pretty fantastic game. This was the fourth game in the series but the second released here in the States. I completely enjoyed it, and this really was an awakening. For the console gamer at this time, there was no such thing as a “Western RPG.” RPGs were all from Japan. Unfortunately, Japanese RPGs all tend to be very… derivative. I would estimate at least 90% of JRPGs still today are swords and sorcery. This was even more so in the olden days. Despite all this, I fell in love with the genre and followed in closely throughout the console life of the SNES and beyond.
About six months prior to the release of the original PlayStation, Earthbound was released in North America. The game shipped in an oversized box with a strategy guide included. It came on the scene to a fair bit of critical acclaim, but it ultimately failed. Many claim this was due to miss-marketing by Nintendo. The marketing was rather strange. They seemed very interested in playing up how gross the game was. The game itself didn’t really feature this prominently, and this is certainly not what it is remembered for.
Regardless of the reason, Earthbound was a failure for Nintendo in the States. It has come to light since its release that the first game in the series (Earthbound was localized from the Japanese title Mother 2.) was completely localized for the US by Nintendo but never released. A collector actually purchased a prototype and made the Nintendo localization available to players via the magic of emulation. It seems Nintendo has never forgiven the failure of the original. A number of Mother releases have been shunned by the company for localization: the Gameboy Advance saw the release of Mother 1+2, a single cart containing the first two titles in the series, as well as Mother 3.
The release of Mother 3 ushered in something of a firestorm of fan activity here in the United States. Starmen.net is the home of Earthbound fans. Its founder Reid Young and the community have organized a number of stunts to attempt to gain the attention of Nintendo of America and to alert them of the interest in more US releases from the series. None of these stunts has been successful in achieving their ultimate goal. As a result, members of the Starmen.net community decided to end-run Nintendo by releasing a fan-made translation of the latest game in the series. This translation is now complete and available. It is also fantastically authentic!
Now that you have a quick history of Earthbound, you may wonder, “What could cause a game released nearly 15 years ago to still have such an active and rabid fanbase?” The possible answers are many. These are the aspects of the game that make it so enduring for me:
Its setting is different from most JRPGs- Earthbound is set in the modern world we all know albeit with some extras thrown into the mix. It is a fantastical re-imagining of our modern world.- People can identify with what’s happening- This setting allows for the game to feature concepts we all know as part of our culture. You’ll find arcades, vending machines, shopping malls, ATMs, telephones, baseball bats, and a plethora of other everyday objects.
- It gives players a sandbox world- Since the setting is very similar to modern life, the fantastical elements are much more satisfying. In reality, a young boy would never wander off on his own to embark on an epic adventure, but it happens in Earthbound. He is parented from afar; he calls his mom for comfort; and his dad deposits money in his bank account when he levels up. Players are given a world much like their own but much more freedom than reality allows.
- The game is light-hearted and fun- Excellent and tasteful humor abounds in the game. The actual in-game humor is nothing like the gross-out stuff played up by the marketing campaign.
- Great music- Earthbound’s score is nothing like that of the Final Fantasy series, but it really conveys the whimsical charm of the game. It’s also quite catchy.
- Innovative storytelling methods- The best example I can recall is the silly font used for Mr. Saturn to convey he is speaking another language.
This article may seem a bit more reverent than many I write. There are few games that really hold a special place in my heart; Earthbound is among these. In general, I tend to cheer for the underdog. Maybe that is another reason I still love and remember Earthbound to this day. It cast off many of the tropes of the genre opting instead to go its own way. It may have failed, but it is definitely a failure I can admire.
Apple plans “Premium” games section on iTunes
January 29th, 2009 •
Tags: Apple, AppStore, games, iPhone, itunes, premium games
Complaints leveled at the iTunes app store by developers are that any app priced over 99 cents risks being overshadowed by the plethora of quick and cheap apps. I have to admit it takes much less deliberation to decide if I should fork over a buck for a game. A five-dollar or more game receives a little more thought. This is natural, and I’m not sure there is any way to avoid it.
Apple has decided the best remedy is to separate so-called “premium” games from the standard games section of the store. The only problem is that the new division of the store is said to be limited to large publisher. Fans of indie games and developers will be a little miffed to say the least. The app store has really leveled the playing field to allow small-time developers to compete against the larger developers. It would really be a shame to see all that go out the window.
Thanks to Cult of Mac for the heads-up.
This is the joystick dreams are made of
January 27th, 2009 • 2 comments
Tags: Hori, Joystick, video games, Xbox 360
I have owned a couple of Hori joysticks in the past (back in the PSOne days). They are beasts. You won’t break them; they break you. They are the most fantastic console joysticks I have ever used. They laugh at kryptonite and eat Hattori Hanzo katanas for breakfast. This new joystick for the Xbox 360 looks to have the same build quality as those old Hori sticks I remember fondly, but it also has some style. Forget MadCatzzzzzzzz. This is the joystick for your 360 fighting enjoyment. Thanks to Kotaku for pointing this one out.
Badass 360 Arcade Stick, Made From The Bones Of Real Arcade Sticks
Game|Life’s 10 iPhone games you must own
January 26th, 2009 • 1 comment
Tags: games, iPhone, iPhone games, wired
Wired‘s Game|Life blog has posted an interesting article listing 10 of their favorite iPhone games. I can agree with a lot of the list, but there are a few I haven’t even tried. (I would really love to try out Crayon Physics Deluxe!) What iPhone games are your favorites? Post a comment to let me know.
The Legend of Princess
January 25th, 2009 •
Tags: free, games, Indie Games, zelda
The IndieGames.com blog highlights a new indie release entitled The Legend of Princess. Unfortunately, I can’t fire it up right now because the Windows partition on my Macbook Pro died a horrible death and will no longer boot or mount. The video looks really cool. It looks little like a 2D Castlevania with more colorful sprites. The developer describes it as a “one-level arcade interpretation of Zelda.” Having only a single level, it’s pretty short, but it’s free!
Jonathan Blow working on a 2D RPG
January 24th, 2009 •
Tags: Braid, games, Gaming, Jonathan Blow, RPG, video games
I was happily cruising through my feed reader at typical breakneck speeds when a Kotaku post latched onto my eyeballs and forcibly sent them to a Gamasutra interview (That’s right. If you’re reading it on my blog, you’re now three levels deep.) with Jonathan Blow of Braid fame. Apparently, his current project is a 2D RPG. I hope he can breathe new life into this genre as he did the 2D platformer. Once upon a time, I loved RPGs unequivocally. Now, I don’t think I could stomach another $60 animated choose-your-own-adventure book. Having played Braid, I’m confident it won’t be just a skin on top of those old RPG tropes.
PC Demo of Puzzle Quest: Galactrix (non-Flash demo)
January 23rd, 2009 •
Tags: demo, games, puzzle, Puzzle Quest
Just days after the Flash demo of the game hit the tubes, a real demo of the game is now available for Windows. I’m confused. Why even release the Flash demo if the true demo was to follow in a matter of days? I haven’t gotten a chance to play yet, but this demo appears predictably more robust than it’s Flash-based counterpart. Pick it up at Big Download.
Jets’n'Guns Gold promo pricing
January 23rd, 2009 •
Tags: Apple, deals, games, mac, Software
Today’s MacUpdate Promo deal is the critically acclaimed shooter Jets’n'Guns Gold. The game is normally $30, but today it can be yours for $10! Mac gamers and shooter fans rejoice. If you happen to be both a Mac user and a shooter fan, you are probably already in some kind of shock coma due to rapture.
Gaming podcasts: What to do in the aftermath of the 1Up Show
January 23rd, 2009 •
Tags: 1Up, 1Up Show, Area 5, Bytejacker, EGM, games, Gameular, Jeff Gerstmann, podcast, Rebel FM, reviews, Totally Rad Show, video podcast
It’s still hard to believe the 1Up Show is gone. Its audio got me through many commutes; its video tantalized me into buying countless games I could not afford. But no more. What the hell am I doing getting sappy about a video podcast? Instead we’ll solve this little problem by finding some excellent substitutes to fill the gaping hole in my soul.
The first show I want to mention doesn’t really replace the content provided by the 1Up Show which only covered indie titles occasionally, but chances are if you enjoyed the 1Up Show, you may also enjoy a little show called Bytejacker. Episodes are short and present a few cool indie titles in rapid succession during the show’s cornerstone segment, the aptly named Free Indie Rapid-Fire. The show offers up two episodes weekly. The first presents three indie titles and asks users to return to the site after playing all of them to vote for their favorites; the second reveals the results. The host Anthony Carboni is great and the entire show is wonderfully produced with a quality not unlike the 1Up video podcast.
The immensely popular and often hilarious Totally Rad Show doesn’t cover the number of games covered by the 1Up Show. It’s probably because they also review movies, TV shows, and comic books. It makes up for the lack of breadth with wonderful style and offers a great time. Like 1Up, the totally rad hosts (Alex Albrecht, Jeff Cannata, and Dan Trachtenberg) cover major releases along with the occasional downloadable title or iPhone game. The hosts each seem to have differing opinions about what they like in a game. So, there’s a good chance you will find one of them whose taste will align more with your own.
If you were paying attention when the Jeff Gerstmann/GameSpot controversy broke and felt the outrage many of us felt, you may be interested in some truly independent gaming journalism. Most everyone from 1Up/EGM is now part of some smaller project which makes me more confident that they will not be pressured to compromise their journalistic integrity to grease the wheels of the ad revenue machine. However, nothing gets more independent than Gameular—a YouTube-like site for game reviews. Watch reviews by other members and post your own. The reviews you see here are less likely to have been bought, but they are also likely produced by someone who is not a professional. In fact, they are most likely far from it.
Last but definitely not least, the best way to approximate the experience of enjoying an hour-long episode of the 1Up Show is by following the makers to their next projects. So far we already have two excellent projects—one audio and one video—from the same tireless individuals that brought you an hour or more of gaming goodness weekly. Rebel FM is an audio podcast devoted to video games, as you might have guessed. The guys seem to have no problem talking about games that aren’t necessarily new releases which makes this feel more authentic in a way. You and I know that the games we play aren’t always those that have hit store shelves within the past two or three weeks. The shows have run about an hour each so far and will be very satisfying to fans of 1Up’s various podcasts. The video podcast, Area 5 will be wonderfully familiar to 1Up Show fans. It is really difficult to tell it from its predecessor. Much of the old gang is here, it is funny, informative, and entertaining. The first episode is currently available at the web site. The guys are also working on some way to make the gig sustainable so there may be money involved at some point, but, to be quite honest, I would much prefer a reviewer take money from me directly rather than from the entities that create the works which they are reviewing.
I hope these options will get you through all the sleepless nights, the boring drives to work or school, the seemingly endless flights with much the same joy as the gaming show we all loved. I think I can speak for most of the gaming community in saying we are glad to have our old show back so soon in some form—in many forms actually—although even the alternatives in this space are no slouches.
iPhone games: Rolondo price drop
January 21st, 2009 • 2 comments
Tags: deals, games, iPhone, ngmoco
Easily $6 worth of cute
Take note iPhone gamers: ngmoco’s spectacular iPhone platformer Rolondo has been reduced from $9.99 to $5.99. It was well worth the $10 price and is certainly worth it at $6. Enjoy!