Come on Game Grumps, upload Mad Monster Mansion!

I just checked the Game Grumps YouTube page and they just uploaded a Winter Olympics video :/

I'm sure it'll be funny as hell as usual when I watch it, it's just that I was hoping they'd upload a new Banjo-Kazooie episode featuring Mad Monster Mansion. In the last episode they finished up by completing the jigsaw puzzle for it so I was counting on a Halloween upload. It might happen in a couple of hours. Watch this space.... or rather their space:

http://www.youtube.com/gamegrumps

Dragon Quest VII is being remade for the 3DS!!!

NICE! NIIIIICCEEEEEE! NIIIIIICCCCCCCCCCEEEEE!!

I've been wishing for this! A Japanese game magazine announced this game being remade for 3DS and I am delighted! Last year Dragon Quest VI was released in Europe for the DS and I bought the hell out of it, then played the hell out of it. When the 3DS was first announced, I thought it would be a great opportunity for VII to be released on it. The likes of Tim Rogers mentioned again and again about how great it would be if Dragon Quest VII was made for the 3DS.

IV-VI were remade for the DS so this is most suitable.
I-III were remade for GBC and it would be great if they came to the 3DS VC!

I remember blogging about my hopes for VI to be released in Europe last year so I'm going to do the same for VII :) Release this in Ireland please Square-Enix and Nintendo!!!

I got some StreetPass hits finally!

Genuine ones too! I got a few from strangers while I was commuting through towns. It's a really fun thing and it's thrilling to see the green light on the 3DS when it's in sleep mode.

Cheap way to get StreetPass hits

While carrying a 3DS with StreetPass enabled, go into a shop where they have a 3DS on display and switch on the wireless function. Whether you like the idea of that or not is up to you.

Mighty Bomb Jack is on the 3DS VC.... hm....

Well, all I gotta say is if you're unfamiliar with this game but are curious about playing it then watch the "Game Center CX" episodes where the first one is about Arino playing the game and the second one is about him playing the game in front of a live audience. I recommend watching them in that order before you decide to play this game. (because it's the most fun I've ever had with it)

The fourth "I am not a gamer" advert: Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPTnoTedusI

Well, here's the one I was looking forward to. It's the woman from the first ad again too— this time with a side kick who helps her and with whom she pounds it with. She then calls herself a master of puzzles.

I don't know if I like this one as much as the other ones.

The building where GAME used to be is now a Halloween shop

Head to Patrick Street in Cork these days and you'll see this costume shop where GAME used to be. I couldn't resist going in. I felt like Indiana Jones or something looking around with a keen eye for remnants of what the place used to be. It was pretty interesting.

I didn't buy anything but the browsing experience was pleasant enough. All the goods were placed in such a manner that I didn't have to bend right down to the floor or dig through layers of packages to find anything, which was something I had to do all the time in GAME in order to have a serious browse.

I guess that's what the building will be now: just an empty lot that occasionally hosts the odd seasonal shop, a bit like the calendar shop that opens in Merchants Quay every Christmas.

On the way out I imagined an Indiana Jones style boulder rolling after me.

The third "I am not a gamer" ad, "Play As You Are" website

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cs8uiO5E9rE
I like the way this lady says it. It sounds more natural and neutral than the other two and seems like it'll still do the job of getting the audience interested in buying a Nintendo 3DS XL.

Here's Nintendo of America's site for the whole "Play As You Are" campaign:

http://playasyouare.nintendo.com/

I like the way it reads "It's not just for gamers. It's also for you".

The site also mentions the new Professor Layton game, which in the past has been popular with females. I can't wait to see the "I am not a gamer" ad for that.

Finally giving StreetPass a proper chance

I never bothered with this function of the 3DS but one day recently I decided to give it a shot. StreetPass Quest is appropriate and considering how it works it's decent enough. It's like a spiritual successor to a type of arcade machine but instead of constantly inputting coins you're inputting StreetPass encounters and pedometer generated coins; in other words, instead of looking for your money it's social contact and exercise.

Playing Dragon Crystal for the first time

So this VC Game Gear title is a Roguelike, which is a genre(subgenre?) that's known for being completely unforgiving and brutal. Even though this game belongs to the genre it has its own set of rules and gameplay elements that actually serve as some kind of gateway to this style of gameplay and soon you're hooked on it.

If you want to know more, Nintendo-Gamer magazine published a really good review of this game(where it scored a 78 I think) that actually got me solidly interested and curious about the game which stuck in my mind for the past few months until I just went and bought it off the eShop. They were right, I'm really enjoying it.

"I am not a gamer" parody by Andrew Eisen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOD7GbLwBvo
I previously referred to this guy as "the handsome man who wants to give Nintendo money" -which is a pretty good name- but I think I'll call him by his YouTube name for short from now on.

Anyway he's here parodying those awesome "I am not a gamer" adverts Nintendo has put out(I'm still waiting for more!) with an old DS game. It looks the business and its brilliantly scripted too.

Is the Adventure Time game coming out in Europe?

I'd love to know. I see some Americans getting excited about the Zelda 2 style gameplay and we all love the fact that WayForward developed the game.

I haven't watched much of the cartoon but it seems to be popular with video game fans. It's broadcasted over here too so it'd be nice if we got this game available to buy.

Game Grumps are heading to Mad Monster Mansion in Banjo-Kazooie!

What impeccable timing :) considering that it's October and Halloween is just over a week away. The way they've been playing for ages too it's pretty cool that they're arriving there in a natural way.

At the time of writing I've just finished watching episode 23 of the Banjo-Kazooie playthrough and after being lost in the desert for ages the episode finishes with them finally finding the picture that opens the door to Mad Monster Mansion.

JonTron says it's his favourite level in the game so I'm looking forward to this!

60Hz Mega Man finally officially available in Ireland on a Nintendo system!

It's about fucking time! Today the first NES Mega Man game is available for the Virtual Console on 3DS and it's in full 60Hz speed!!!!!

As you can tell from the trailer available from the official site(which also has the price):

http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/games/nintendo_3ds_virtual_console/mega_man_55244.html

the music is at the correct speed!

I know this isn't quite a new thing as all of the NES games released on the 3DS Virtual Console have been in full 60Hz but it needs to be celebrated again and again and as much as possible so that video game publishers may be reminded that this is the kind of thing we care about. (Sometimes they forget).

When can we expect Mega Man 2? Well it's bound to come, considering the fourth game has just been released on the Japanese eShop and releases have been coming out at a steady rate.

Mutant Mudds update tomorrow

I'm looking forward to this update tomorrow which updates the 3DS game with extra levels. I don't have the game 100% complete yet so I'll have to play towards them.

Now some may report this as "new free add-on DLC!" but I don't see it that way. I see this as the final definitive version of the game that I bought on the eShop for 9 Euro.

Rayman Legends and Ninja Gaiden 3 are out early next year for Wii U

According to Nintendo of Europe's upcoming games list feed thingy on their website, Ninja Gaiden 3's release date is 11th of January and Rayman Legends just has a Q1 2013 date. I guess if it turns out that I get a Wii U at launch I'll have played a lot of NSMBU by the time they come out.

Wii Connection Ambassador Promotion is finishing up soon...

http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/news/2011/the_connection_ambassador_promotion_ends_on_21st_november_55213.html

I never really bothered with this programme. Sometimes I wondered if I should but then I see all the terms and conditions and I'd start to feel like a door to door salesman or to be more specific, a door to door electrician who insists on messing with the poor host's wiring system. That's probably not the best analogy but it would seem like an awful lot of work to find all these people that would likely fail to meet some requirement or another.

In general though I'm keeping a close eye on Nintendo for all Virtual Console news because I'm very curious to see what they end up doing on the Wii U.

Game Grumps animated, Kristy Krust Town by lazyllama52

Game Grumps continue to be great fun to watch! It's so popular now that fans have been making their own animations with dialogue taken from the episodes. I love it.

Here's one that's so well made and is absolutely charming:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWuAYp0BRaE

The big eyes, the happy cute cartoony faces, the running action, the tenaciously crafted lip synching... just awesome. That line at the very end had me in stitches and I had to watch the whole thing over and over again! YouTube commenters have been saying that it's like Rocko's Modern Life. I agree, and I would also say the design is like a mixture between Ovide and Count Duckula. Really enjoyed this one!

Gonintendo info on Mutant Mudds' free update, QR codes

http://www.gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=187600

What I love about this blog post is the QR code that links your 3DS to a web page that has special screenshots you can view with the handheld's 3D mode. It's just one of those modern conveniences that make me smile. I don't mean the 3D of course — I can't stand it — what I'm talking about is the whole QR code thing.

My favourite example of this in action is seeing someone scan a movie poster's QR code with their smartphone and then be linked to the trailer for it.

This reminds me of an anime I was really into called FLCL. In the last episode there was a robot that was normally gentle but then it made visual contact with a larger evil robot thing that was looking for it. Some weird thing came up on its display and they started merging together to form a bigger badder robot thing.
It was pretty cool at the time!

Anyway this example with Mutant Mudds is a perfect example of something cool you can only do with a 3DS. Everybody seems to love the developer and that's probably because they treat the 3DS better than most third party developers do. Hope they keep up the good work.

I wish Game Boy VC games had multiplayer support

Game Boy games on the VC retain everything, including the menu option for 2 player but it isn't actually available.

I heard NES VC games like Ice Climber will have multiplayer support in future. In Japan, the VC version of Columns for the Game Gear has multiplayer support(the game isn't out here yet).

I'd love for it to be available. I have Kirby and the Amazing Mirror (currently an ambassador title) and it would be fantastic if I could play that game with another friend who has the game on their 3DS.

It was always a pain trying to find someone to play multiplayer with in the actual Game Boy days. Now with the local wireless capability it really ought to be possible and available.

Tried out Shifting World demo

I just don't know why a game like this has to have loading times. It makes no sense. The flash game upon which it's based is free and it makes for a better experience.

The other puzzles besides the one I just mentioned are ok. Not crazy about them, not in love with them, I just think they're ok.

Playing NSMB2 in 2 player co-op mode

I had a good chance lately to play 2 player in this game and I have to say I really enjoyed it. How it works is the person who plays as Mario has the world in one of their save files be the play field. That works very smoothly and if you wanted to switch to the other player's world, it's all a matter of quitting back to the title screen and have them choose Mario.

It's great! One player can help the other find secret exits by actually guiding them there in-game. That's a feature that really deserves to be celebrated. The screen within a stage itself follows one of the Bros., and it's always the one with the arrow above his head. It can be switched by butt-stomping.

I was wondering how this would work in the auto scrolling, auto running cannon stages. What happens is, the one that goes into the cannon gets to try the stage while the other stays behind and leaves in a bubble. The one that left in a bubble can then spectate on the other player's attempt to get through the stage on their own screen! I think that's a fab feature as well!

Got my commemorative coins!

Remember NOE's promotion where you register Xenoblade, Pandora's Tower and Last Story and you'll get a 3-coin collection with the game titles engraved on them? Well mine just arrived in the post the other day!

It's just an ornamental thing but still it's nice to feel like a valued customer. Thanks Nintendo!

Tried out the Rhythm Thief demo

I heard that SEGA's Rhythm Thief for the 3DS has special tributes to Space Channel 5 and Samba De Amigo so I thought wow! I gotta try it out! So I downloaded the demo.

What I didn't hear about the game to my horror was that you have to scrawl the touch screen constantly which is something I really don't like with DS games.

I deleted the demo as soon as I could.

Why I think Hideo Kojima could make a great Silent Hill game

In a recent interview Hideo Kojima said an executive in KONAMI approached him and offered him a role in the production of a new Silent Hill. I think he would be perfect for it.

First, let's be honest with ourselves. Silent Hill's gameplay is terrible and it's always been terrible(with some exceptions but more on that later). What's great about Silent Hill and what fans love about Silent Hill are the elements that would make for an amazing adventure game. I consider that type of game to be where Kojima excels and not only that, he has a genuine concern about the way a game plays, which I feel would be beneficial and just what Silent Hill needs, especially if it must have combat.

My favourite Silent Hill game is a J2ME mobile phone spin-off. It's actually a point n' click adventure game and it even has two sequels. Considering the limitations of the format it's a very well accomplished game and very competently delivers on the elements that the series is known for.

Ask anyone who's a fan of the series what they love most about the Silent Hill games and they will tell you about moments where something pops up or a noise suddenly happens or about something psychological that messes with you. Incidentally if their favourite game is Silent Hill 2 they will give you a comprehensive essay about what this thing or that thing means or represents. They might even talk about puzzles. They will almost never talk about combat.

One thing that Metal Gear has in common with Silent Hill is fan-fondness for moments - moments that make for a very memorable adventure game. For that reason, a Silent Hill fan can rest assured knowing that their beloved series is in good hands if Hideo Kojima becomes deeply involved in its production.

Hideo Kojima is also reputed for making cinematic games, and I raise that point because there are many famous movie producers and directors today who got their start making horror movies. It's well known that their experience in making these movies helped them develop their craft and make them the amazing and famous directors and producers we know today. This could be a very beneficial and enjoyable project for him.

Metal Gear and Snatcher are also known for having scenes of gory stuff.

Now that I consider all this, how would anyone NOT think Hideo Kojima would be great for Silent Hill?

Curious about "Hell Yeah!"

There's this new game that's out on PC/XBLA/PSN and it seems like an interesting platformer. Thing is, I don't have the consoles or accounts with middleman PC download services and there's no other way to try out the demo. I may sound like I've been living under a rock but this is kind of annoying that I have to go through the likes of these guys. I'm kind of whiny about it I know but the thing is, I'm not that pushed about having to jump through hoops like this, especially considering the fact that I was able to download a demo of Typing Space Harrier earlier in the week from SEGA's Japanese website no problem.

Ah well I might give it a go anyway. Watch this space.

Mole Mania is out on VC! Best puzzle action game available!

Finally this is out. I've been looking at overseas fans with envy because they got Mole Mania before us. I've also been looking at other 3DS games and a good chunk of them are puzzle oriented, at least the most critically acclaimed ones are anyway. The darling of which is Pullblox which is an ok game alright but I think Mole Mania is the best! Try it out!

It has a weird price though.... 2.99. Why the .99? Most 3DS downloadable titles are whole euro sums. It's slightly annoying.

I have fond memories of playing this on my Super Game Boy back in the day. Pity the enhancements aren't available because they compliment this game well.

3DS Nintendo Direct for today, Paper Mario Sticker Star release date

Paper Mario Sticker Star for 3DS will be released in Ireland on December the 7th. This is a concrete final release date and it's straight from Satoru Shibata's mouth. Thank goodness after all the false dates Gamestop has been putting on their display cases.

From this presentation we also see a whole load of games I've never heard of even though I follow video game news quite closely. I mean, they just came from nowhere and the information about them comes straight from the source which is excellent. Without the middleman games media with their opinions and contracts to keep their source of income happy we get the whole truth, unforeseen and unspoiled by communication noise. Nintendo Direct is a wonderful thing.

I didn't even know there was going to be a presentation today until I got a swapnote from Satoru Shibata telling me about it.

Out of all the news I've only really mentioned the release date for the new Paper Mario but hey, we get the most important things out of the way first!

Have a look at Nintendo of Europe's latest Nintendo Direct here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsW07vfokWc

Sean Malstrom likes those "I am not a gamer" ads too!

http://seanmalstrom.wordpress.com/2012/10/03/excellent-nintendo-ad-enrages-the-hardcore/

I knew he'd like it too! I was waiting patiently for the past couple of days for him to eventually blog about it.

He has an excellent point about the hardcore and I've been seeing backlash to these ads in YouTube comments, other blogs like Kotaku etc and the user comment sections of those blogs.

However, I am also seeing user comments from those who responded positively to these ads.

Right now I just want to see how everything develops with this advertising campaign. I'm carefully watching this space.

A second "I am not a gamer" ad appears!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6XeECPKnJM
This time it's the famous Olympic gold medallist that appeared in another video with the "Oh! Didn't see you there!" while playing her 3DS XL.

This is where the amazing quote appears but with a whole new challenge: she's playing a Mario game.

Let me try to say it out loud (ahem):

"My name is Lucas and I am not a gamer; with my 3DS XL, I'm an Irish Nintendo Fan"

I sound dangerous.

Actually there's a reason why this blog has "Fan" instead of "Gamer" in the title. Noone I knew used the term when I was growing up and all of a sudden it appeared over the last decade. It's widely used now and I don't know if I or Nintendo's advertising campaigns can do anything to change that. I still feel weird about using the word. My two favourite magazines has the word in the title. Retro Gamer has it in their title whose reason I suspect is for lack of an easier word to use and Nintendo Gamer(no longer in print) I think it's safe to say uses the word in an ironic sense because I highly doubt they actually like the word.

The girl here in this video declares herself instead to be a coin collecting champion, which is a form of high score chasing, which itself is an arcade style of playing a game.

Way to sneak in the arcade style in these ads! Nice move Nintendo :)

New 3DS ad: "I am not a gamer"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLFoNe9iD-I

"I am not a gamer". That's the most incredible and awesome thing I've ever heard from a Nintendo ad. It's a very bold thing to say and it's the first of its kind I've ever come across.

After digging around I found that this is just one advert in Nintendo of America's new "Play As You Are" advertising campaign as explained in this press release:

http://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/detail/xfr4fNX6bwO1MHaHs9HQd7JZYDncw5SF

So according to this, the above ad with that genuinely bold and awesome quote is the second of several ads they're putting out. The first one is on YouTube as well and features an Olympic gold medallist talking about NSMB2. It begins with a cute "Oh! Didn't see you there!" routine (she was playing her 3DS XL).

The "I am not a gamer" lady will appear in another ad for Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask. Will she use that amazing quote (or something similar) again? I'm really looking forward to it! The press release says it's out on October 28.

I think this "Play As You Are" campaign is a wonderful thing and can apply to all Nintendo fans.