We can't say we've encountered this for ourselves yet, but apparently it's in the game. Whether it's a joke at Sony's expense or not, we're laughing all the same. Now, if only that trainer used Krabby ...
This Zelda shirt, cleverly called Born to High-Rule, offers a look at a rarely-discussed part of the Zelda mythology: the birth of Link, rendered here in a stylized graphic. If we ever wore a shirt featuring a widdle baby Link, it would probably be this one. Even if there were some other ones.
We like the details that make up the background: the hearts, hookshot, and other Zelda doodads. We especially like that the boomerang is complimented by an eminently boomerangable Keese, just like it always should be.
This limited-edition Zelda Game Boy Advance signed by Shigeru Miyamoto is really damned cool. There's no controversy about that point. But is it $2,157.86 worth of cool? That position might be too shaky for us.
It was apparently okay with one eBay shopper, because that was the final selling price for the system. At a price like that, we bet the guy won't even play games on it. And a Game Boy Advance that doesn't play Super Dodge Ball Advance is worth far less than two thousand dollars to us.
The list is the Time 100, which profiles 100 people that, in Time's opinion, are the most influential. And this year, our opinions will help shape Time's. And that's why we say Shigeru Miyamoto hasn't taken over the list yet. If there's anything gamers are good at, it's being vocal on the Internet.
He's currently sitting at number 3 on the list with an average rating of 92, but we're sure that our collective clicking-on-things power will drive him to the top of the list. Sure, that's above every world leader and every scientist, but if they wanted carefully-researched decisions about relative world influence, they shouldn't have asked the Internet. They're lucky that we're even voting for real people.
We have no idea, but we're sure such a debate is de rigeur in the Pokemon community. As such, the fine folks over at The Tanooki have compiled a top 25, but we want to know what you think. Who's the best-of-the-best out of all the Pokemon? Is Pikachu your number 1 or are you a Squirtle fan?
For those of you who love those little Pokemon, however do not live anywhere near the New York City area, the launch event video for Pokemon Diamond & Pearl available past the post break is going to be full of things you've never seen before and do not know. How, you ask? Well, for example, did you know that Team Rocket was to have a fourth member in the original television series, however she was dropped at the last second? Yup, her name was "The Lunch Lady" and that's her above.
Check out the video for other launch day goodies after the break.
As far as we're concerned, Mario spends way too much time saving princesses, racing karts, and partying with minigames. Meanwhile, we've got leaky pipes, a shower with almost no water pressure, and no one around to fix them in sight. For a guy posing as a plumber, Mario doesn't devote much of his day to practicing his plumbing trade.
Extra Life's Scott Johnson, bathroom gamer extraordinaire, devised an evil stratagem to put the lazy plumber back to work. Drawing upon the power of ancient gods whose names were long forgotten before our sun even birthed its first flames, he set off a chain of inescapable events that left Mario's visage and eternal soul trapped on a toilet seat lid. What once was an ordinary lavatory now serves as his dark prison.
Scott captured the sorcery on video, which you can watch past the post break. It's impressive to see that the only tools he used throughout the entire project were a Sharpie marker, a sheet of paper, and several demonic runes blessed by shadow priests of the underworld.
Now we know what to wear next time we make a journey into the Cave of Monsters! Check out these lovingly hand-painted shoes, covered with Bubble Bobble images. Normally, we would find the self-referential name-checking ("Jamie Owns") a little egotistical, but we are willing to make an exception in this case, because
The shoes are quite awesome, and
The lettering is done in Bubble Bobble-appropriate bonus items.
We encourage readers to spend their non-gaming time making game-related crafts. Creation is good for a culture that is often seen as destructive. Plus, hey, neat shoes!
It was not by our hands that these action figures were given "flesh." They were brought here by NECA, who wished to pay Castlevania tribute.
Simon Belmont, hero of Castlevanias I, II, and (Super) IV, and Alucard, of III, Symphony of the Night, and (spoiler alert, sort of!) Aria and Dawn of Sorrow, are shown here in unpainted, prototype glory. The link below has more views of Simon, but all we have of Alucard is this one shot-- for which we had to put our biohazard suits on and go into Myspace.
They resemble the beefy character art of the first NES game more than Ayami Kojima's work, and Simon's stomach isn't something that should be looked at directly, but these are still awesome. We've been looking for some new decorative items, and these will do nicely. Our desks are as empty as our souls. Blogger-kind totally needs action figures such as these.
Continuing this week's theme, we've got a big question: what's your favorite game ever? Yes, ever -- not just on the DS, but all time. That's a tough one, and we'll look the other way (just this once) if you guys can't narrow it down to just done. You little scamps tend to cheat and slip in ties for first place anyway.
We expect to hear about several Zelda titles, and perhaps a few Metroids, and hope for a Castlevania or two, but it's the offbeat favorites that are always interesting, so be prepared to explain.
Developer Atlus admits that it will have a tough time selling Etrian Odyssey to anyone who isn't already a fan of dungeon crawls or other niche genres. As great as a turn-based, first-person RPG might sound to some of you, it's rare for that kind of game to register even a blip on the radar of most gamers or gaming media.
Atlus has been updating Etrian Odyssey's official site with promotional webcomics, the first of which proposes how the title can attach itself to current trends and elbow its way to the front of the crowd. Likening the game's dungeon crawl experience to Brain Age is a huge stretch, but we have to applaud the creative approach. See what we mean after the post break!
Mega Man series fans have something else to look forward to in the near future, besides the never-ending stream of spinoffs and sequels. Viz Media has licensed the anime adaptation of the latest spinoff, Mega Man Star Force (Ryuusei no Rockman in Japan) for US audiences.
The story is some baffling thing about a human kid merging with an alien entity called Omega-Xis to become Mega Man, which we're sure will make more sense after we play the game. It makes us a little nostalgic for the sparse robot vs. robot storyline of the original Mega Man series, but not the original Mega Man cartoon. Do you think the cartoon will be good enough to promote a game with three versions? We make fun of Capcom for all the Mega Man overload, but we're huge fans and will no doubt fill our TiVos with episodes of this series.
I am 8-Bit, the generally brilliant art show focusing on classic video games, is opening tonight at Gallery Nineteen Eighty Eight, and looks like it's going to be quite the event. Among the neat stuff to see and do: a giant 2600 controller, with a custom-designed 2600 Mega Man game to play on it; and performances from ComputeHer and 8 Bit Weapon, neither of whom we've heard of, but are probably fun.
We would totally go gawk at some highbrow Nintendo fanart if we were in the area. If you go, bring your DS, because something tells us there will be some gamers around.
With all the stuff coming out based on the Animal Crossingmovie in Japan, you can play Animal Crossing for real-- by buying a whole bunch of adorable items and displaying them in your house! NCSX is selling new playsets, each featuring an animal, two matching pieces of furniture, and a house. There are also two special sets containing characters like Wendell and Tom Nook, and, of course, some more furniture.
NCSX is also stocking some Animal Crossing plush toys and coffee mugs. We are aware that Animal Crossing strongly promotes the collector mentality in-game, so we hope we haven't just emptied any fans' wallets by pointing this stuff out.
Now why can't we get game displays like this in the United States? This is how you market a game! Anyway, the sale of Gyakuten Saiban 4, which is comprised of 4 episodes of the tried-and-true investigation and courtroom segments of the previous three games, featured the above chalk outline of what we're assuming is one of the cases the game's new protagonist must tackle.
This Zelda shirt, cleverly called Born to High-Rule, offers a look at a rarely-discussed part of the Zelda mythology: the birth of Link, rendered here in a stylized graphic. If we ever wore a shirt featuring a widdle baby Link, it would probably be this one. Even if there were some other ones.
This limited-edition Zelda Game Boy Advance signed by Shigeru Miyamoto is really damned cool. There's no controversy about that point. But is it $2,157.86 worth of cool? That position might be too shaky for us.
As far as we're concerned, Mario spends way too much time saving princesses, racing karts, and partying with minigames. Meanwhile, we've got leaky pipes, a shower with almost no water pressure, and no one around to fix them in sight. For a guy posing as a plumber, Mario doesn't devote much of his day to practicing his plumbing trade.
Continuing this week's theme, we've got a big question: what's your favorite game ever? Yes, ever -- not just on the DS, but all time. That's a tough one, and we'll look the other way (just this once) if you guys can't narrow it down to just done. You little scamps tend to cheat and slip in ties for first place anyway.
Developer Atlus admits that it will have a tough time selling Etrian Odyssey to anyone who isn't already a fan of dungeon crawls or other niche genres. As great as a turn-based, first-person RPG might sound to some of you, it's rare for that kind of game to register even a blip on the radar of most gamers or gaming media.
