E3 2014: Metal Gear Shaky-Cam 5

I had a look at this non-Nintendo trailer as well and it was full of horrible shaky-cam cinematography. I wish Hideo Kojima wouldn't allow this. So many look up to him re: game cinematics so I feel he should be a better influence.

Unfortunately, he in turn looks up to those in the movie industry who use obnoxious shaky cam. I wish he wouldn't! Those movies suck and this technique is hostile to the audience. Quantum of Solace for example was regarded as one of the worst Bond films ever and everyone who was unfortunate enough to watch Cloverfield got sick. Fans of The Dark Knight fast forward to the bits with Heath Ledger's Joker and don't bother with the rest.

Shaky cam isn't used for realism, it's used to make up for a weak movie budget. This doesn't apply to games though and so, putting shaky cam in there just to make it look like a bad movie is missing the point entirely.

GAMES ARE BETTER THAN MOVIES. The act of making them cinematically comparable to bad movies is DEGRADING.

Impressions on Sparkster from watching Game Grumps

I haven't played this game or any of the other games in the series in great depth but it does look good. The way you fly around bouncing off the walls seems a bit too stupid and loosey-goosey to be that much fun though.

PARODIUS — MAY CAUSE BONERS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrFP1TaLZr8

and there's the proof. It's such a stimulating game full of fun and craziness that Dan had an erection the whole way through. You don't see it obviously but we hear that he becomes genuinely concerned as it goes on. Enjoy Parodius sensibly folks.

Follow up on Game Grumps Parodius

Heh it's a good game certainly but it's the next game in the series, Gokujou Parodius that's the best in my opinion.

GAME GRUMPS ARE DOING PARODIUS! YES!

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

They just uploaded it! I haven't watched yet but holy shit! Go watch it! It's one of the best games everrr! Can't wait to see them experiencing it and for potential new players to go "wow!" at it. Arin will be a pro of course since he's super good at Gradius 3. Oh boy oh boy!

Koji Igarashi leaves Konami

Wow. The days of classic Konami are well and truly over now. (Well, they have been over for a long time to be fair). Now the only thing Konami is good for is making us squeal occasionally when they make an obscure reference to their classic games. It doesn't have to be like this but that's the way it's going to be unfortunately.

Anyway, this news is emerging very close to Igarashi's GDC presentation, which is still scheduled for this Friday.

http://schedule.gdconf.com/session-id/828360

New LovePlus has a TwinBee game in it

Just saw this nice idea. You play as TwinBee while your LovePlus girlfriend plays as WinBee, taking advantage of the couple concept from that game's design whilst also serving as a nice tribute to Konami's classic arcade series.

If you've been grumpy with Konami in recent years, this will make you a tiny bit less grumpy.

Koji Igarashi will resurface to talk about Metroidvanias

http://schedule.gdconf.com/session-id/828360

It's a speech titled "There and Back Again: Koji Igarashi's Metroidvania Tale".

I am going to love this!

Keifer Sutherland is now Solid Snake (I know him from Phone Booth)

I don't know an awful lot about Keifer Sutherland except for his role in Phone Booth(which was a great film in the cinema and makes me wish I kept the ticket stub).

His role as a sniper in that movie is very much like a type of character that would appear in Metal Gear and this is further complimented by the fact that his voice over the phone provides great presence to that character, which suits Metal Gear with the codec calls and such.

Now that I look back on that movie and the Metal Gear games I've played over the years I think his character in the movie is a lot like Big Boss.

Castlevania on 3DS VC in full 60 Hz

If you have any interest at all in Mirror of Fate, you should play the original NES game first. It came out over here in Europe on the 3DS VC on Valentines Day. It's also the first time we get to officially play it at the proper 60 Hz speed.

If you were to compare Castlevania on the NES to the Mirror of Fate demo, you'll see why many people prefer retro games!

One cool thing about Mirror of Fate

I like the way you come across scrolls and it contains someone's dying words or their lament or whatever. It's a nice little touch.

"2 players through local hotseat mode."

60Hz NES Gradius 1 is on the 3DS VC now and I immediately bought it for 4.99 as I love Gradius. On the eShop it has this funny little phrase where it tells you the number of players. Literally it means 2 players alternating, just like Super Mario Bros.

Edit:

excerpt from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotseat_(multiplayer_mode)

"Hotseat or hot seat is a multiplayer mode provided by some turn-based video games, which allows two or more players to play on the same device by taking turns playing the game. The name hotseat started as a reference to playing a PC game and trading seats with the other player."

So it's something well established... You learn something new everyday!

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?

I want Snatcher on Wii! (or Wii U) Part 9

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-09-27-kojima-its-my-job-to-push-the-industry-forward

Here's a passage from the above interview with Hideo Kojima regarding Snatcher:

"Personally I love adventure games and I would love to create additional chapters in the Snatcher or Policenauts series, but unfortunately from a business perspective it is quite hard to make that work, and I feel it's my job to push the industry forward, so I don't think I could really make it."

That's fair enough. What I've been going on and on about for years though is my wish for him to get behind putting the Mega CD Snatcher on the Wii (or Wii U) and maybe for it to be treated like "Snatcher: The Final Cut". I've never thought of asking for any additional chapters or sequels.

The article above also more than alludes to Kojima getting a chance to become involved with Silent Hill. If we can look past all the diplomacy and PR speak, I think he could make the best Silent Hill game ever!

Tak Fuji's response to fans love of Mystical Ninja Goemon

Tak Fuji posted this on his twitter in response to our feedback:

"Thanks for so many HOT messages about our classic IP. I will take them seriously and hope I can do something extreeeeme to thank your love."

I guess he really likes that word. What does he mean by hoping to do something to thank our love though? What could a Konami producer like him do? hmmm? hmmmmmmmm?

Enough talk, time to use my extreeeeme Irish Nintendo Fan powers to broadcast a message:

Dear Tak Fuji and to all concerned at Konami, I would like to purchase a new Goemon game for a Nintendo system please :)

*whoosh!* There it goes!

Tak Fujii asks all fans about Mystical Ninja Goemon on Twitter, I give my answer here :)

Ooo! Some stuff about Mystical Ninja! Count me in!

This KONAMI Producer's Twitter is here:
http://twitter.com/tak_fujii
and here's where I found out about this:
http://www.gonintendo.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=91862

I'd like to give my own answer to both of his Twitter questions here, where I can give answers longer than 140 characters :P

Question1: Are you missing GOEMON ( Mystical Ninja ) ?

Me: I am! In fact I am missing all of Konami's classic characters and series like Twinbee, Parodius, Penguin Adventures, Road Fighter, Snatcher etc.

Question 2: OK, I hear your love... but I just wonder why. Why Goemon is so special for you, compare to other huge side scroll action franchises?

Goemon games are just like the best of the huge side scroll action franchises! They have rock solid gameplay mechanics and a colourful, appealing animated look. Goemon games are typically like a cross between Super Mario Bros 1 and The Legend of Zelda 1. What makes Goemon special is its theme and setting. Fans online love talking about how zany the humour is or anachronisms like giant robots or even just about how proud it is to be a Konami game for example having references to the Konami code or 573 or being able to go into a building in the game and play classic Konami arcade hits like Gradius. If you think you've seen it all when it comes to side scroll action games nothing prepares you for a Goemon game!

I wonder if KONAMI is thinking of bringing back Mystical Ninja/Ganbare Goemon? That would be so awesome!! :D It would also make me very happy if answers like mine help to make it happen. If you like Goemon, go and tweet Tak Fujii!

Snatcher reference in Gradius ReBirth!!

Following on from the previous post I made about Gradius ReBirth, there's also a reference to Snatcher in the game's intro!

You can clearly see a Metal Gear with a Nintendo Wii fitted, which is a reference to Snatcher where it was fitted with whatever hardware that version of the game came out on. I have to say, the Mega CD attached to Metal Gear looked very strange. The Wii looks very nice though!

Why couldn't Snatcher have appeared on Wii? Since the Wii revived adventure games it makes perfect sense. At least we got to see Metal Gear attached to a Nintendo Wii anyway, even though it was in a completely different game. (yet still a kick ass one)

Today's eShop release of Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon

I've blogged before about the two different games on Game Boy titled "Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon". Unfortunately this is the weaker of the two. Although it has Zelda-like gameplay and a decent atmosphere, it's not executed very well with its collision detection and perspective issues as well as its general blandness.

Now I would LOVE for the other "Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon" game to come out on the eShop. When that game was originally released over here it was part of a compilation called "Konami GB Collection Volume 3", unlike the other game I described above whch was a standalone release.

I would love to see the games in Konami GB Collection Volume 3 be released on the eShop, as a classic Konami fan and a Mystical Ninja fan!