Whether you're a fan of the movie, the novel, or just a certain scene re-enacted by cats, Hunter S. Thompson's Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas is one unique experience. Now, some person has gone and whipped up some great fanart, combining Hunter's world of drugs with none other than Nintendo's plumbers, the Mario brothers. It's not the greatest piece of art in the world, but it certainly brought a smile to our face when we looked upon it for the first time.
With our two cruel, merciless lovely, thoughtful, and charismaticleadscracking the whip gently encouraging us to blog, we barely find time nowadays to recline in a long, hot bath. Next time an opportunity arises, however, we plan to share our tub with one of these Super Mario Brothers Bath Bombs.
Available at ThinkGeek for $5.99, these release a yellowish, fragrant foam into your bath, before dissolving to leave you with a cute Mario, Luigi, Fire Mario, Bowser Jr., Goomba, or Power Mushroom figurine. DS Fanboy: your one-stop source for Nintendo-themed toiletries.
When Japan-based 4cr staffer and elementary school teacher Vinnk tried using the Mario universe to teach his young students the English words for family members, he can't have been expecting a lesson of his own on the Mario family tree from a classroom of six-year-olds.
That's exactly what he did get however, with his pupils patiently pointing out that Wario, Mario, Luigi, and Peach were all siblings, that Bowser is either their father or uncle, and that Luigi must be older than Mario because he's taller. We're still no clearer on what Yoshi's role is in this incestuous mess, and it's not something we wish to dwell on for longer than is necessary.
Anyway, for the full hilarious/adorable transcript of this exchange, hit the "Read" link below. It made our morning.
We recently brought up the never-ending case discussion again, because, like so many of our readers, we just can't find that perfect bag that really reflects how we feel about the DS. That's why we love it when readers let us know they've taken matters into their own hands. We like to live vicariously through the crafters among us, because they design the most awesome things -- like these themed DS bags.
Reader Pamela made a bitchin' Peach bag for herself, complete with loads of zippers and pockets, and an extra bag for, well, extras (like her phone). To complete the look, she got Peach accessories for her handheld, and the result is pinkariffic. In fact, the bag was such a success that she ended up making one for her brother, and another for her brother's friend ... and they're all hand sewn.
Yeah, we're jealous.
So what have you done lately? From crafts to cakes to collections ... whatever you've got, if it has a little Nintendo flavor, we want to see it. Just take some pictures (or copy your web album links) and send them to showmeit [at] dsfanboy [dot] com. We'll take care of the rest.
Sometimes, you just can't decide which fandom you want to pursue at any given time, especially when we're talking about an occasion like Halloween. There are just too many options! You know you've toyed with ideas like "Its-a me, Sparta Mario," or "Touching Mrs. Tingle." Well, one reader decided to take the mash-up approach to his Halloween costume this year, and he calls the result "Dr. Luigi Myers in Punch-Out!!"
We heartily approve, Oscar. Here's hoping you scored not only compliments, but piles of sugar, if that's what you so desired. Or maybe you were just shooting for laughs. That's admirable as well.
Got something you want to show off? Crafts, cakes, collections from modest to extreme, t-shirts ... whatever you've got, if it has a little Nintendo flavor, we want to see it. Just take some pictures (or copy your web album links) and send them to showmeit [at] dsfanboy [dot] com. We'll take care of the rest.
Is this not the cutest frickin' iPod case you've ever seen? Martha Wozniak knits not only these Luigi-themed cozies, but Mario and Princess Peach pouches as well. If only they could fit a Nintendo DS, that would be perfect!
We're sure that many of you would gladly pay a king's ransom to secure one of these -- they look like great Christmas gifts -- but they're available on her Etsy shop for only six dollars each! Button your overalls and jump past the post break for images of the Mario and Princess Peach iPod cozies.
Promotional Consideration is a weekly feature about the Nintendo DS advertisements you usually flip past, change the channel on, or just tune out.
Giant advertising firms with international clients and extravagant budgets aren't the only people working hard to push their video games on you; small mom-and-pop stores also develop stratagems to attract the casual shoppers who haven't yet decided on what to buy. These sales-generating tactics can be something as simple as putting up a notice about in-demand consoles being in stock, or as annoying as hard-selling you on preorders and magazine subscriptions.
One of our favorite schemes, and the topic for this week's Promotional Consideration installment, relies on setting up homemade signs with creative interpretations of video gaming's most recognizable mascot, Mario. Join us past the post break for some of the interesting Japanese in-store displays that we've come across.
If you ever find yourself in Oslo, Norway, during your travels, you might just run into a few familiar faces. That would be the faces of sprites from Nintendo mascots and other gaming characters alike, gracing trash cans and signs all about the town. And, upon looking at TheFunkyHorror's Flickr photo set, we wonder how much walking around the guy did to take all of these pictures.
Is it just us, or do some of those pictures look photochopped, though?
This one was easy. Lots of you felt the need to lambast some of our favorite titles in yesterday's DS Daily, but hey, we're nice people. We'll let it slide.
So, we've heard which games you would bring down from their pedestals of glory ... which would you raise? Which games don't get the attention they deserve, despite wonderful game mechanics or plot? We'd like to nominate Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time, a title which slipped under the radars of Paper Mario fans nationwide. C'mon, it was hilarious!
There's a party going on tomorrow and the Tanooki got a sneak preview of the decor. It's a full-on Super Mario themed bash, complete with all the stuff you'd expect to find in a Mario game. This fantastic Chain Chomp piñata is just waiting to be smashed, hopefully by a jumping kid in a Mario costume. Seriously, if there's an invite going free, we'd love it.
Head past the break for the giant Pirahna Plants and chocolate coins!
What is your poor couch to do when it wants to look jaunty for a night on the town? Nothing. That's why your couch doesn't go out. It's ashamed.
If you care about your couch at all, you'll buy one of these Mario or Luigi hat cushions from NCSX. It's the least you can do, considering what you do to it all day. You know, the sitting.
Alternately, you could buy one of these plush toys for decoration. That would be pretty weird, though, right?
Also in today's NCSX update: awesome Bomberman t-shirts and cell phone straps, Chocobo cushions, and even moreAnimal Crossing toys.
All this week, the DS Fanboy staff is letting you in on a few of their favorite titles. Each day, a different member of the staff will present their personal top five DS games along with a snapshot of their gaming paraphernalia and habits, in an effort to provide our readers with a little more information on the tastes and personalities of our writers. It's odd; in the past two years, I've played my DS more than any other system, console or otherwise. However, I very rarely play outside of the comfort of my own room. Sure, I have the ten minute bus ride to campus everyday, and an hour break between classes, but the bus ride is relaxing and the hour I spend on campus, playing chess with some friends. It's really a testament to the quality of the library on the DS, that it would stand against the heavy-hitting consoles without the added advantage of portability.
I'm a bit of a Renaissance gamer, playing titles far and wide. Sure, I've grown tired of the World War II shooters, but if a game is innovative and/or well-crafted, I'll give it a shot. I also like bunnies and salsa dancing and figure skating; I'm so macho.
Posted Mar 28th 2007 9:30AM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: News
Once embittered rivals, Mario and Sonic were at each others' necks during the 16-bit console wars, both of them vying for the Top Mascot prize that awaited the victor at the end of the battle. Tensions eventually eased between the two combatants and their respective companies, and after years of respectful neutrality, Nintendo and Sega are making their friendship official with a game that joins both franchises.
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games will be released during the holiday season this year for the Nintendo DS and the Wii. Mario, Sonic, Luigi, Tails, and the rest of the extended casts will be competing in events set in arenas modeled after the venues of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
Hisao Oguchi, Sega Corp.'s President and CEO, had nothing but praise for the project: "For the first time, two of the world's greatest games' characters come together to compete in the world's greatest sporting event and we couldn't be more excited." While we can't imagine anyone from the Mario troupe besting Sonic at the 100m run, the blue hedgehog might have trouble with swimming competitions if he has to stop and replenish his air supply with bubbles too much.
This might not receive the same fanfare as a Sonic appearance on Super Smash Bros. Brawl would, but maybe this is just a hint of what's to come from Nintendo and Sega? There's not much at the video game's official site yet, but head over there to check out forum discussions and sign up for email updates.
The DS is well-known for its unusual design features, the two-screen format and the touch screen. Many of the DS's most popular games make good use of these features, and there are many outstanding games, like Meteos, that make strong enough use of them that they could fairly be said to depend on these features. There wouldn't be too much to Brain Age without the handwriting input, and it is hard to imagine Elite Beat Agents existing at all without either the unique interface or the simultaneous cutscene/gameplay presentation.
But for as much attention as the DS gets for its unique features, many of its best games use them in only the most cursory of ways. Some of the best-reviewed, most popular DS games have only optional touch-screen use, or some function that is nonessential to gameplay. Some games squander their second screen on inventories and maps. Many such games not only could have worked just as well on other systems, they are from long-standing series that worked just fine back in the dark ages when game systems only had a single screen and controls were mapped only to buttons.
The games on this list are the highest-ranked games according to Metacritic that fall under the category of "traditional" games. In fact, the top four DS games according to Metacritic are all traditional. Each game on this list is an excellent DS game that is excellent independent of the DS' inherent advantages.
We really weren't fans of Mario's blue shell ability in New Super Mario Bros., because it tended to steer us inexorably into a lava-filled grave. But we want to hug this plush Blue Shell Mario. And then maybe toss him into lava.
Play-Asia is selling these adorable NSMB toys, produced by Banpresto, for about $11 each. You have your choice of the aforementioned Mario, a Mega Mushroom, Boo, Luigi (in casino minigame regalia) and Toad. Does anyone else find it odd that Luigi still wears his green hat, even when he's in formal attire?