New Pandora's Tower trailer and details

- game features thirteen towers
- two primary attacks: chain and sub weapons
- aim the Wiimote at the screen and your pointer will turn red when you can interact with something via your chain
- when you grab/tug on something, a yellow gauge builds u
- the higher the gauge, the stronger the attack power
- chain can be powered-up by defeating bosses as well
- equip one sub-weapon at a time
- use the chain and sub-weapons together
- sub-weapons are used via button presses
- start the game off with just a sword, but gain a dual sword later on
- gain materials to strengthen your sub-weapons

It looks pretty fun. The mix of chains and sub weapons should make a fun battle system.

Site Chat tonight at 8pm EST

Well one week removed from the 1 year anniversary of Monster Hunter Tri. This week I'd like to talk about the Project Cafe and E3 expectations of everybody and whatever else gets brought up. Hope to see you in the chat!

Project Cafe is real.

Well last night Nintendo sent out a letter on their Japan website.
In it it confirmed that they are having the new system playable at E3 on June 7th-9th 2011.
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2011/110425_4e.pdf

There is going to be some investors meeting tonight at 3am EST and Midnight PST.

Update from New Jersey

Hello again, true believers.

Just wanted to drop two quick notes...

1. We made it in to NYC yesterday to visit, among other things, the Nintendo World Store. It's the first time I've been back since their renovations a few months ago.

It was good times. We really enjoyed the 3DS demos and the bigger focus on the console experience on the upper floor. It was my first time actually using the AR cards. It was, y'know, "nifty"... but my wife loooved it.

I played Madden and I gotta say it was a lot of fun. I wanted to try it since the reviews of it have been soooo bad. I don't know what the problem is? Can anyone explain to me how it isn't just a Madden game with 3D?? I wouldn't pay $40+ dollars for it ... but I wouldn't pay $40+ dollars for ANY Madden game!!

I also picked up an Emolga plush to go with the Picharisu we got back in August. Heck yea!

2. I've just finished my great contribution to the world of Pokemon. I call it the "Pokemon Effectiveness Calculator" and it is available in the Extras > Downloads section right NOW! If you have played a lot of Pokemon, its value should be immediately recognizable. I'm pretty proud of it! ^_^
... but I also welcome suggestions on how to improve it.

Oh heck, here's the link... and tell your friends!
http://www.nintemple.com/extras/PKMN-EC%20v1.1.exe

Greetings from New Jersey

Hey, it's NinSage. Just wanted to wish everyone a happy Monster Hunting day!

Sorry I can't be there but I'm far, far from my Wii at the moment.

I expect at least one Great Jaggi to be killed in my honor. Please leave its pelt in my forum inbox. ^_^

PS - get well soon, Maxi!

Sick today Monster Hunting tomorrow.

Well last night I wasn't feeling to well and that continues to today. I'm going to try to work through this today so I can Monster Hunt tomorrow. I will try to be there in the morning to hunt. There hasn't been any new sign ups on the forum since I posted about it before.

We will be meeting on the recruiting server in Greed 4, Gate 27 and City 27.If we have more than 4 at a time in a room then the overflow room will be Greed 4,Gate 27, City 28.

There is time to sign up if you can on the forums in the Tourney/Gamenight section of the forums.If you can then sign up on the forums. I'll edit the post sometime tonight or in the morning. Hope you can join us.

Nintendo download for April 18th 2011

First up on the Virtual Console is Mega Man X for the SNES.It costs 800 points.
I remember playing this back when it came out. It was challenging and fun.
Here is a video of the first part of the game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvFd8sJfwsg

Next up on Wiiware is My Little Baby for 600 points.
The demo is up for Bit Trip Core.The Demo is free to download but the full game is 600 points.Here is a video of it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TjfzOqXQGQ

For DSiware we have GO Series Captain Sub for 200 Dsiware points.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVWDsw0WsZk
DodoGo! Robo for 200 points.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lFRB6cpZfk

Music on: Learning Piano Volume 2 for 200 points
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icjASxpmDj0

High Demolition #005 - Sowing Disappointment

Issue #005 of "High Demolition" is up!

It depicts my interpretation of what goes on behind the scenes of insane Wii 2 "reports."

Enjoy!

Horizon Riders, 3DS and Wii 2 hype.

So, I was out of town last week and didn't bring my most recent issue of Nintendo Power (April). Now that I'm back, I've started reading through it and saw a game I'd never heard of before, a WiiWare title called "Horizon Riders."

Basically, it's built like your standard Sin & Punishment rail shmup (short for "shoot 'em up" for the uninitiated). However, this game has one unique twist. A twist that I have been clamoring for since I first tried Wii Fit... a "traditional" game (no sports, no fitness) with high action intensity (sorry, Super Monkey Ball) that uses the Balance Board!!

I specifically remember playing the downhill ski portion of Wii Fit and commenting: "now let me just point and shoot things with the wiimote and we'll really be on to something!!" Well, Horizon Riders seems poised to do just that. You steer your sci-fi dude (or dudette) with the Balance Board, and point'n'shoot with the Wiimote. Of course, if Motion Controls are still something you want to keep to a minimum, you don't need to use the Balance Board to play the game.

Here's a trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pPESuj_OIo

I'm not sure when this game is coming out. Nintendo Power said it might even be out by the time I'm reading this but that's not the case. Anyone find a release date? I can't wait to (have time to) play this game!!

~~~

I played PilotWings Resort at Best Buy a few weeks ago and found the 3DS experience to be "nifty." Nothing that blew me away. Well, last night I was in a GameStop that happened to have SF4 3D on the demo unit. I have had zero interest in this game for the same reasons why I had zero interest when the game landed on consoles a while back. But, regardless of the content, the 3D effect was amazing! All I can say is it worked flawlessly. I had the slider all the way up and it was just so visually pleasing. I'm not sure what Capcom did or why my experience was so different (perhaps the lighting in Best Buy was too harsh? perhaps the screen was too grimy?), but if that is the potential of glasses-free 3D, then I think we may have something here.

Of course, all the "hardcore" gaming outlets seem to think the 3DS is floundering at market so... I guess Nintendo just effed up again!

~~~

Lastly, dear gaming media, I know you need hits on your site. But the Wii 2 rumor hype is out of control. Please stop. Thanks!

From Sprite Mirror to Superstar

Some time ago, during a quick play of Super Mario Galaxy 2, I came to a startling realization. It was something I'd always wondered if it would ever happen, and was surprised it occurred long ago and I never noticed. It was something that has both its upsides and downsides, and now that it's here, I wonder if it was better the way before.

Luigi is no longer a neglected character.

One needn't look past Super Mario Galaxy 2 to find out that this is true. In that game, Luigi is not only any longer a prize for beating the game, but instead, becomes a playable character before even reaching the halfway point. Looking farther back, he appears in more than just the Galaxy games. He's guaranteed to be playable in spin-offs, was reunited with his brother for adventures in the Mario and Luigi series, and even starred in his very own game a decade ago. With such a prestigious resumé, there's no way he can still be The Eternal Understudy; if he is, then so is just about every other game character in existence.

This is quite a feat for a character who debuted as nothing but a recoloured sprite mirror of Mario in the Mario Brothers arcade game. He almost broke out into his own when he was given unique abilities in games like Super Mario Brothers 2 and Super Mario Brothers, uh... 2, both the Japanese and different USA versions, and then even received different coloured overalls in Super Mario World. After that, he began to fade into obscurity, being completely absent from Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, and practically nowhere to be found in Super Mario RPG, appearing only in the occasional spin-off. But it all changed when Luigi got his very own game in Luigi's Mansion, and he's now every bit as famous as Mario.

Now, there are plenty of other characters in the Mario universe who are truly neglected. For starters, we have Waluigi, a character created as a companion to the doppelganger Wario in Mario Tennis and has appeared in just about every spin-off game since. He and Wario are a great mischievous duo, and yet he has never appeared in one of Wario's own games. There's a lot of potential there; from a co-op Wario Land game to the wacky microgames of the WarioWare series, Waluigi would be a perfect fit for Wario titles.

In a similar vein, we have Birdo, who first appeared in Super Mario Brothers 2 USA and was brought back from obscurity as Yoshi's doubles partner in Mario Tennis. She shares much in common with Yoshi, in both appearance and abilities, yet she has never appeared in one of Yoshi's games; the two would make a great co-op team in a new Yoshi's Island title. As it is, she may be fading back into the forgotten; she was excluded from a few of the recent spin-offs titles such as Mario Sports Mix, where she is nothing but one of the generic races in the crowds.

Ever since this realization, Luigi has become less endearing. He no longer has the charm of being a character you seldom see, and are lucky when the occasional spin-off appears where he gets a chance to shine as playable. He still has his personality and makes a great character in games like the Mario and Luigi series, and even though he will never be the same, it's still nice to see he's made it. Now, let's just hope some other, truly neglected Mario characters can get their shot at the spotlight.

Is anyone actually surprised that my first blog entry involved the Mario series?