An inflatable Yoshi and a drill bit - will Galaxy 2 have more puzzle-orientated stages?
Wired.com’s excellent Game | Life blog features a fascinating interview as Chris Kohler talks to Shigeru Miyamoto about Nintendo’s forthcoming software and its rivals’ ventures into motion-control territory.
Apparently, Mario Galaxy 2 came about because the development team had so many unused ideas left over that a straight sequel simply made sense - Miyamoto points to Mario’s new drill item as something which could potentially have a dramatic impact upon gameplay, while it seems Yoshi will also play a major part in differentiating the sequel from its wonderful predecessor.
He also suggests that Galaxy 2 will not feature as significant a story as the original, stating that plot is less important a consideration for a game as action-orientated as Mario games traditionally are, and more key for the Zelda series. Talking of which, he reveals that the Zelda announcement wasn’t made on stage at E3 for two reasons - one, he’s not keen on the industry’s habit of talking about games long before their release; and two, “we thought it was just more valuable to continue have the team focus their energies on creating what will be a very entertaining gameplay system, rather than have them waste their energies creating a trailer to announce a game at E3 very far in advance.”
While elsewhere it has been suggested that Miyamoto was privately impressed with what he saw of Project Natal, he hints to Kohler that he feels the controller-free approach isn’t necessarily the right way forward, talking of how important feedback from the remote - from the speaker and the rumble - is to enhancing immersion. He also talks of the “precision” of Wii MotionPlus - and accuracy is no doubt going to be one of Nintendo’s watchwords as Natal’s release approaches. “Looking at what the other companies have shown here at E3, it feels like they have finally obtained the very basic technology for doing motion control, but perhaps they still have to learn how to use that and take advantage of it in an interactive experience,” Miyamoto adds.
He also discusses New Super Mario Bros. Wii and the troubles facing the Japanese games industry. But I’ve pilfered enough highlights from Kohler’s excellent Q+A for now - to read more (and you really should), click here.
The game's Power Cruising mode looks to have a couple of variations.
A little unenthused about Wii Sports Resort after Nintendo’s lacklustre onstage presentation at E3? This here video could well change your mind.
If you can cope with the frequent pauses (it seems Nintendo of Japan hasn’t quite got the hang of how to make a video buffer effectively), then you’ll see a game with much more to it than the original - a fact which was hardly made clear by the game’s E3 showing. Twelve events, some of which appear to have multiple modes, and from the looks of things there are certain individual challenges (that basketball clip near the end as some sort of certificate is awarded is surely evidence of that).
I’m also really keen on the resort hub. While Wii Sports was fun, the events felt disconnected. There’s much more charm to an island environment filled with Miis, and I’m hoping that during the aeroplane sections you’ll be able to swoop down and see characters from your Mii Plaza duking it out with swords, shooting hoops, or wakeboarding in the surf.
The clip instantly shot the game to the very top of my wanted list for this year, and the thrilling news that I’ll likely be getting my hands on it in three weeks (when the Japanese version launches) has me very excited indeed.
Shortly after March 12th this year, my entire world will grind to a complete halt. That date marks the release of Rittai Picross, Nintendo’s 3D take on the life-eatingly compulsive puzzler which enslaved my DS (and me) for several months in 2007.
It’s pretty much exactly the game you’d expect it to be - Picross but in 3D. You’re given a number of cubes with numbers on to chisel away at until you’re left with a vaguely recognisable (if blocky) rendition of a dog or a plane or a baseball player. It appears to be completely stylus controlled - using swipes to rotate the view and stabs to tap away any unwanted cubes, with an icon swapping between a hammer and a paintbrush, the latter to colour in areas which are part of the finished shape. Eventually you’re left with the solution, which then animates in a rudimentary but entirely charming way. And that’s about it, really.
Presentationally, it’s giant strides ahead of Picross DS and its peers (Hudson’s Illust Logic and Colorful Logic remains the best take, for my money) and it’s the logical next step for the game. One concern remains over how exactly the more complex puzzles will be presented - the official site merely offering a few examples of early brainteasers - but this is Nintendo, and I’m sure there’ll be an elegant solution to that particular problem.
It’s Wi-Fi compatible, too. Whether that will mean downloadable puzzles or online multiplayer I’m not too sure, but either way, I’ve cleared a couple of weeks’ worth of evenings in my diary already.
Nintendo’s usual ‘we haven’t announced dates yet’ rebuttal of my enquiry about Another Code: R’s potential European release hasn’t lessened my excitement for the Wiiquel to CiNG’s superb DS adventure. So it’s taking all my resolve not to just order the Japanese version, particularly as it’s available right now.
So I’ll have to console myself with the latest AC:R news from Nintendo’s (Japanese only) online magazine which carries an interview with those involved in the game’s creation.
It seems that Blood Edward Island - the first game’s setting - won’t be utilised this time round, instead focusing on the seemingly idyllic Lake Juliet, and the camping site around the lake. The game is controlled entirely using the remote, and solving the game’s puzzles is a matter of figuring out what kind of movements you need to action with the Wii controller - you’ll be given visual clues by an animation of protagonist Ashley on the right hand side of the screen, for example holding the remote like a test tube and shaking it to mix the contents. This seems a more elegant system than that of Zack & Wiki, which made the motions obvious even if the puzzle solutions themselves were more obscure.
As the map is larger than that of the Wii game, and sometimes Ashley has to travel significant distances, you’ll be able to shake the remote to run through areas you don’t need to explore further. Once again, part of the story revolves around a young boy - one of more corporeal substance than the ghostly D from Another Code: Two Memories, but there’s a definite resemblance. While it seems there won’t be too many direct links to the first game, Ashley will once again revisit the memory of her late mother Sayako, while there’s also a nod or two to Hotel Dusk: Room 215 - the pink rabbit on Ashley’s bag for one.
Tomorrow should see news emerge of Famitsu’s review score for Another Code: R - fingers crossed CiNG has pulled off another compelling tale interwoven with some inventive puzzling and clever remote usage. And if so, that Nintendo hurries up and gets it localised. I’ve heard a rumour it may yet be hitting Europe in April. Please be true.
If you’ve played GBA classic Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, then you’ll know why the return of videogaming’s Best Evil Sidekick, the hilarious Fawful, is a very good thing indeed. His broken English - speeches about “mustard of doom” and “brothers of badness” - caused many a belly laugh, and while sequel Partners in Time saw his appearance reduced to a brief cameo as a badge shop owner, it looks like he’ll be playing a key role in the imminent threequel.
Original developer Alphadream is returning, too - and it looks to have a fair few neat ideas up its sleeve if the videos dotted about the game’s official site are any indication. They’re mostly the sort of thing we’ve seen in the clips posted on the Touch-DS minisite yesterday, but it’s interesting to see exactly how Bowser will affect Mario and Luigi’s progress and vice versa -a potentially more elegant and less confusing central mechanic than the baby heroes in Partners.
The art is delightful too, with some excellent character designs, engaging animations and a general spit-and-polish for the whole presentation. To paraphrase Fawful, if you don’t want this then you are idiots of foolishness. “Snack on my wrath, fink-rats!”
Mario & Luigi RPG 3 has to be one of my most-anticipated DS titles of the year, and the latest footage of the game has me even more excited.
It seems that the brothers will spend the majority of the game inside Bowser’s stomach, with the game switching between top and bottom screen depending on who you’re controlling. As Mario’s nemesis you’ll swallow water which enables the brothers to float up to unreachable platforms, while also winding up some powerful punches to take out baddies in battle.
The combat looks to have the same timing-based attacks as the previous games, but stylus-activated moves are also available on top of the button commands. Enemy design looks even better than ever, while the attacks themselves look brilliant in motion, particularly the one which sees Luigi inflate to around ten times his normal size.
As well as the YouTube clip above, you can find more videos here and here. Oh, and should you need any further incentive to watch them, both feature an incredibly attractive Japanese model cooing and giggling over her DSi as she plays.
It looks like Nintendo is really going big on DSiWare, with eight new releases announced this week - could it yet become the DSi’s version of the iPhone’s AppStore?
Alongside a map of Japan’s train system, and 200-point treats like a DSi clock and a solitaire game are two more titles in the Art Style range - for my money one of the best things Nintendo’s done this generation - called Somnium and PicoPict. Somnium features in the video above, and looks like one of those games where you plan to have a quick five-minute go and wind up charging your DSi at 2 in the morning just so you can play some more.
Meanwhile, PicoPict is arguably an even more interesting proposition, blending a traditional tile-matching mechanic with Picross. The aim is to recreate famous Nintendo sprites from yesteryear by lining up tiles against falling blocks with the stylus to create four or more pixels, which disappear from the bottom screen to float up and fill in the picture on the top screen.
Take a look at some footage of PicoPict below, and pray that Nintendo announce a western release date for DSi soon, because this kind of simple but elegant idea is ideal for gaming on the move. The official mini-sites for both games can be found here and here.
Anyway, it’s getting closer to the Japanese release of Mario & Luigi 3, which - as Siliconera reports - is out on February 11th. It’s definitely coming our way, but so far - typically - there’s no concrete info regarding a US or European launch. Nintendo has announced its Q1 schedule already, so chances are it’ll arrive sometime in April or May.
The second Mario & Luigi, Partners in Time, was a solid DS adventure which didn’t quite live up to its GBA predecessor, the sublime Superstar Saga. But with original developer AlphaDream on board, and the promised return of Best Evil Sidekick Ever, the hysterical Fawful, the third in the series could well be the best yet. Particularly as the story sees our two heroes miniaturised and controlling nemesis Bowser - from the inside. Looks like that bizarre sense of humour which made the first adventure a particular joy is well and truly back.
Earlier I discussed several reasons why existing DS owners should consider upgrading to next year’s model, but perhaps the most compelling of them all is the new DSiWare service.
Initially it’ll be the preserve of the real hardcore - those early adopters who’ve picked up a DSi just so their games look even better on those marginally larger screens and who know their way around wi-fi. (As an aside, it seriously concerns me just how many of these casual Wii owners take their console online - worryingly low, I fear.) But there should be plenty on offer which will tempt technophobes into braving online waters. There’s a new camera-based Wario Ware which uses your own shadow to manipulate the on-screen(s) action - after each set playing back the footage of you acting like a buffoon. There are two new Art Style titles - block-puzzling Aquario, and intriguing brain-cruncher Decode.
Perhaps most promisingly of all, there’s the entirely free Ugoku Memo Chou, which has already picked up quite the following in Japan, as it allows you to quickly create simple yet effective flip-book animations from your touchscreen scribbling. Already there are a few videos circling the darker recesses of the internet of fantastic anime-inspired nonsense, but the above example is a good demonstration of what the software is capable of. It could be one of the most essential pieces of software this year, and will (and likely already has) sell a good few DSi consoles on its own.
As long as enough gamers make use of the service, DSiWare could be one of the handheld’s biggest assets in 2009. Now let’s hope for a Spring release for the DSi so we don’t have to hang on to experience these quirky and unique titles which are currently wowing Japanese players.
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