(Part of this was accidentally posted a few nights ago for like four minutes when I hit "publish" instead of "save" for anyone who saw it and is wondering why it's re-appearing.)

I don't know about you guys, but I regard both the SNES and N64 versions of Pilotwings as some of Nintendo's best classics. I picked up the SNES game today and had a blast playing through all of the Flight Scenarios again. The game has a very unique charm to it that both the graphics and music contribute to, the music especially. It's simplistic, but it's not boring or stale, but extremely fun and sometimes addictive.

For those who have never played either of the Pilotwings games, the gameplay is very straightforward. You play through "Flight Missions"(self-explanatory, you're always in the air) in various hovercrafts such as Jetpacks, Planes, Gliders, Helicopters etc. In each mission there will be colorful rings you need to pass through as you're flying and then eventually land safely without hitting the ground too hard to landing in the water. It's a neat idea that might have turned into a poorly designed crapfest if developed by the wrong company, but instead ended up being a terrific and under appreciated classic.

This is one of those games that just has to be responsible for many smashed controllers. You know the type. They suck you in with their involving and addictive gameplay, and then punch you in the face with cold and unforgiving controls. Don’t get me wrong; the controls aren’t bad. But they won’t cut you any slack. You have to work to get a perfect score in Pilotwings. Whereas the design is only very loosely a proper simulation, the controls are more realistic. The plane flies like what I imagine a real plane would. When you pull up, it slowly reacts and then builds up a climbing speed. And if you want to suddenly go down, you’re going to have to plan ahead to fight the upward momentum.

So, Punch-Out!! was released and turned out great. Nothing revolutionary, but still a great game that managed to successfully utilize the Wii's Motion Control in a well designed and non-clunky way. What about Pilotwings? It's really something that I've been hoping for ever since the Wii was released. I had heard a little while back that it one was in development, but I never heard anything after and from the looks of it the whole thing was just a false rumor.

I picture Pilotwings as one of the better games that would work extremely well with the Wii's Motion Control, if done correctly. And, by "done correctly", I simply mean no "lolz turn wiimote sideways and if ur luckay teh game will pick up teh response". With Motion Plus, I'm sure(actually, I know) a great sequel could be made that would add new and creative gameplay elements while still retaining the old charm.

It wouldn't have to be something overly complicated or "epic". It could be done in a similar manner that Punch-Out!! was. A great classic with a rather simple overhaul that doesn't alter the original core game play in any negative ways, but rather upgrades it to make it fit the console more appropriately. It's definitely time Pilotwings got more love. At least an N64 release on what is basically a WiiWare fest Virtual Console now.

Ugh, those are my quick thoughts here...I've actually been playing the two games since I got sick. I have a head ache and a stomach virus of some kind in 90 degree weather, both of which only came up right after I ate some tainted French Toast. :[

That's right. Gaming Wardrobe, not set up. Is there a problem?!

It's humid. It's not hot, but it's humid as hell, and for me, that means I can't open my old and worn out wooden dresser without slamming it ten times. I pulled so hard on it today, that it caused my Wii to fall off the side and hit the floor. Luckily, thanks to the ridiculous durability that Nintendo's consoles seem to gave, it only sustained a minor scratch(how the fuck did hitting the floor scratch it?). Anyway, since I'll be replacing this broken piece of furniture soon, I took out all my old clothes and found a lot of old graphic shirts I forgot I even had. And, since my "gaming setup" is fairly messy right now, I took some pics of the t's instead. :P



Layout of every Mario t-shirt. The only one that doesn't fit well anymore is the green one at the top. :P





Close-ups.



No, I don't wear these, but, uh...they're cool to own...alright, yeah. My virginity is sealed for the next eight years...



Zelda t's. Good stuff. Most of these were either bought at Hot Topic or Target.



That Megaman shirt on the left tore a huge hole under the arm pit once in school. I forgot deodorant that day...*shrugs*





That DBZ one is too big, sadly. :[

Well, there you are. I'll post pics of my full room once I clean it up a bit. Until then, enjoy looking at my sweaty clothing.

Remember that time, way back when - the first screens for this game were released. They had shown nothing more than Link fighting a blocky looking knight. Time went on, and we eagerly awaited the upcoming screens tossed at us by Nintendo, as they delayed the game again and again, and then AGAIN! We were getting closer and closer, counting off each day on our calendars, only to hear that Nintendo had delayed the game another three months. The impatience and frustration had us all saying "This damn well better be the best game ever!" After all, it had been seven years since A Link to the Past was released, and we all wanted something that would top even that masterpiece. Nintendo certainly has a reputation for endless delays in an attempt to give us gold, and surely enough, Ocarina of Time was(is) one of, if not THE greatest game ever, and certainly the greatest Zelda game ever.

The opening itself is stunning, as you see Link riding his horse across Hyrule with peaceful music playing in the background. It's simple and light, and yet it instantly draws you into the game. It's such a great way to do an opening - introducing our hero as he rides across the spectacularly large over world on a horse.



Love the opening? Then you can expect much, much more. As soon as that beginning intro cuts off, you're shown the gate of a castle as it slowly lowers to reveal a tall, dark man on a demon-like horse - it is none other than Ganondorf. This game offered such beautifully designed 3D graphics at the time. The N64 could finally wave this gem at the PSX and shout "Top this!" The graphical designs were so detailed, beyond recognition - a full 3D game...unimaginable.

The characters had such amazing polygon counts, and none of them looked even remotely blocky(keepng in perspective the time this was made, folks). The textures were all extremely detailed, and areas such as Link's house actually used pre-rendered backgrounds so that everything looked as detailed as possible.

The facial features is something that really stuck out in my mind. Every individual character had various expressions. A happy face would show the character with the usual closed eye and smile. Then, in a dramatic sequence of events, Link's facial expression would chance from his normal, serious look, to a more "worried" face. Ganondorf will switch to his annoyed face, rather than that normal evil smirk he generally has. The expressions allowed players to feel more like they are there. Even though Link never spoke, the expressions let us know what he was thinking, or how he was feeling. I really loved that.



Special effects were also an awesome aspect of the game. The bosses would often take up most of Link's eyesight, and follow with a massive explosion after their defeat. Following these effects were Link's awesome magic techniques, but even more impressive was the lighting. If you pulled out a torch in a dark hall, the fire's light could literally be seen crackling on the walls, and most objects even had their own shadows. The best example of the lighting is the day and night difference. If you come to the fire during the day, it'll look dim and barely noticeable, but if you come at night it looks so much brighter, it's ludicrous. Hell, there's even puzzles that can only be solved by reflecting light off of various objects!

At least until Wind Waker was released, Ocarina of Time was easily the most cinematic game in the series, arguably more or less than Majora's Mask. Most Zelda games would have a cut scene at the beginning and the end, but kind of fizzle out near the middle. Ocarina of Time manages to stay strong in the story throughout the entire game. At no point are you really left wondering where to go, or what you are supposed to do next.

I will say that this game is the darkest game Nintendo has ever done(or, "one" of the darkest). Link eventually comes to a dead wasteland filled with nothing but zombies, which are shown with blood(first time in a Zelda game). The characters were also greatly altered. The biggest example here being Ganon, known in this game as Ganondorf, who rather than being boar-like, was a human. Impa has the biggest change, evolving from a fat maid of Zelda to an angry ninja lesbian bodyguard of Zelda. Now that's progress!



Ahem, *cough*...But what makes the story so excellent is just how it is done. Ocarina of Time had a much more "epic" feel than ever before, as shown by the chaos that Ganondorf has ensued along with the beautifully executed cut-scenes. From the dark nightmare of Ganondorf riding after Zelda to the creepiness of seeing the first boss in the shadows. The special effects and camera really make the scenes feel so much more dramatic.

And like the rest of the game, it is the fine little details in the story that make it so good. The more interesting parts of the story are the back-stories. As you play the game, you find out more about the mythology of the land. You are introduced to the three goddesses and how they created the world and how the Triforce came to be. You find out how Ganondorf is the fabled male Gerudo, who is born once every 100 years out of the females(how does this work, exactly?). It’s not the whole picture that is necessary, but the fine details that make it more enjoyable.



As always, the main focus of the game is about the dungeons. They were beyond anything we had ever seen before. I love them because there are some things about them, which simply couldn’t be done in 2D. The best example of this is in the Spirit Temple. At one point, you must complete a set of puzzles having to do with reflecting light onto different mirrors and onto rocks to open doors. First, you must find the light coming down from the ceiling. Then, using Link’s special shield, he will reflect it onto a mirror, which will reflect onto another mirror until it reaches a sensitive area, which will then open the door. This really isn't possible, or I should say, won't have the same "affect" if done in 2D. The dungeons are so much darker in tone and feel more alive. The one that stands out the most really has to be the Fire Temple, as it gives off this large sense of hell and is accompanied by such a great soundtrack that fits the atmosphere and mood perfectly. For anyone who had bought the re-release of Ocarina of Time(after Gold version), the original theme of that temple was removed for fear of offending certain people, but if you're interested you can find it here. The one found in the re-releases is here.



Every area you go to will have tons of items to collect and various mini-quests to play through. The villages themselves are their own experience. Every villager has his or her own story. You can talk to them normally, or check their expressions when you use different masks. Searching through their houses you may find an area you didn't notice before and it may even lead to a heart-piece! The exploration feeling is stronger than ever because nearly everything in the game revolves around it. All of it makes the world feel like it is really alive. The soundtrack really adds to this. There are so many memorable tunes that really set the mood for any given place, and make you feel as though you're actually lost in a forest, or traveling over endless deserts.

The minigames are fantastic. Ranging from simple archery contests to a contest while riding on horseback, to strange bomb minigames to even a neat fishing minigame. The boss battles are some of the most epic fights ever in videogaming. One which comes to mind is the fight with Shadow Link, where he will mimic every attack you do if you target him, so you have to find other ways to fight him. If you want to play these amazing fights, unfortunately you have to play it again. So, all the more reason! I really do hate it when people say this has no replay value, because it does. There are tons of heart pieces to collect to give you more life. There are so many mini-quests that even I never managed to finish them all. You can find Gold Skullutas all around the dungeons and world to exchange for prizes. Some dungeons even have special areas you can't unlock until you get better items. So, if you thought you were done with the dungeon once you beat it, you're wrong.

A real accomplishment that the game managed to have was its incredible atmosphere. The castle village has folk music in the background with tons of people clapping and dancing. Death Mountain is filled with the goron creatures, and you can go inside and see their interesting culture and celebrations. There is the Zora waterfall, and you get to see the society of Zoras (before they all turn evil and decide to attack Link in future games, that is). Every area of the world has its own little theme, and yet they manage to all stay connected. The creatures in the game all had new character designs, and they look great. The Zoras went from weird sea monsters to more human like valiant swimmers.



The combat was, arguably, the most revolutionary thing about the game. As Link, you can wander throughout Hyrule fighting passing enemies. If you want to, you can simply just attack them, perform a couple combos, maybe a whirlwind. That's still very fun. But, the best thing about the combat is the Z targeting system. Pressing Z will allow you to lock on to the enemy. It's not like most other games where that simply means your arrow might hit them or something. The targeting system is much deeper than that.

It works, because it allows players to choose how they want to fight. Without the Z targeting, players can perform a bigger variety of combos or use some different attacks, but in targeting mode, the enemy is always locked on. Players can move around the enemy, get tips on it from Navi(riiighht...), figure out his battling tactics, etc. It would seem like just a style for wimps, but really it is much more than that. Without it, players cannot do some fancy techniques required to beat the bosses like immediately dodging then firing an arrow, or controlling where your shield reflects. Ocarina of Time’s manages to stay good after all these years because it tries not to be too complicated. It stays simple, but gives Link a wide variety of maneuvers, so that fighting one enemy is like fighting all the rest.



The game style itself had also drastically changed Link's appearance. He's now an adult throughout most of the game! Once he becomes Adult, he can do many things such as using specific items that Young Link could not. He can use the bigger swords (like the Master Sword, Goron's sword), and can actually use the Hylian Shield (unlike kid Link who just used it as a shell). Most of his items evolve as well. The slingshot becomes a bow. The boomerang becomes a hook shot. Deku seeds and sticks become spells, etc(I'm talking symbolically, of course). To open dungeon areas, Link has to play certain songs taught to him by Zelda or whoever. In the first part of the game, they are only used for dungeons. But, once Link becomes adult, they can be used to teleport to different areas.

This is the closest to gaming perfection that real games can come too, in my mind. New gamers shun this game because of its less than pleasing graphics, and because newer gamers are too lazy to explore the damn game. If you're not given a bazooka and blood spurting at you whenever something dies, gamers will shun it. It takes a real gamer to appreciate this masterpiece. You will find that this is among one of the greatest games of all time. I personally think it is the greatest, but not all others tend to agree. You can thank this for the targeting system for almost all future games. You can thank this for living, breathing worlds and for facial expressions. You owe it to yourself to play this game. If not on the N64, then on the Wii.

Yeah, no clever title this week. At least now people know exactly what my blog is about. :)

Having had no real "new" games to play recently, and being bored to death of the hot and humid summer days, I decided to pay the $10 to download FFVII onto my PSP a couple weeks ago. It took some time getting used to the small resolution(yeah you can blow it up, but it looks blurrier, and don't even get me started on wide-screen), but after a good hour of playing I got past that and really started to enjoy it. I completed it, story-wise, in about 22 hours, and spent another 10 preparing for Emerald and Ruby Weapon, and for the first time actually defeated Emerald without Knights of the Round. Never happened before, simply because I didn't feel like breeding a Cold Chocobo, nor did I have the patience to level without W-Item, which I always forgot to obtain at the end.

Oh, for anyone who's interested, the strategy I used to beat Emerald was simply Mime+Demi 3+Bahamut Zero. After that, given the Master Materia, Ruby was of course no problem at all.



I don't know about you guys, but I personally love the time you spend in Midgar at the beginning. It really starts off the game well by setting up the dark and gloomy feel of the story, and it's demonstrated so well in the opening. There is a pattern of stars in the sky as the camera seems to move around, counting them until the stars form into a green sprite revealing a woman's face and then walking out of the alleyway and into the dark, damp and very gloomy streets. She's the most colorful thing amongst the other passerby's walking around. Her figure can be sighted even when the camera moves out, until her pink outfit and brunette hair becomes invisible. The camera then swiftly moves out and shows the full view of the town, Midgar, revealing the distinctive and prominent view of "FINAL FANTASY VII".

The music is a big stand-out point here as well. Every song fits the moment perfectly, going from a slow gloomy tune to a fast up-beat one. The soundtrack of Final Fantasy VII remains as one of the most iconic video game soundtracks of all time (although admittedly, part of that is the popularity of the game as a whole enhancing the popularity of the soundtrack). One-Winged Angel's popularity is well-documented, but the music behind other parts - like the final Jenova battle and Diamond Weapon's attack on Midgar - are fantastic as well. My personal favorite song has to be the boss battle theme. I can listen to that repeatedly without ever getting tired of it.



The battle system? Addictive, straightforward. Not crazy about the whole Materia system, as I felt it took away the custom feel of each character, but at least this way there's no worry about having each individual character learn the spells.

Now, since there's really not a whole lot else to say that hasn't already been said about FFVII, I'm going to go into something else real quickly. I never understood why this game received so much hate over the years. Is it simply the popularity? The dated graphics? Spinoffs? Hell, do any of those reasons actually matter? Sure, the game hasn't aged well in terms of it's graphical designs(although, aside from the Lego people, the pre-rendered areas look pretty good), and it's certainly a tad overrated, but I see no major reasons that justify the rage the very name itself seems to spur. I see people labeled as "n00bs" and "fan boys" for simply referencing this game as their favorite.

A lot of gamers seem to feel as though they have to differentiate themselves by comparing this title to some obscure RPG. Why should the fact that it has a huge fan base somehow embarrass anyone to appreciate the true quality of the game? A game such as Chrono Trigger seems to receive an equal amount of praise, in a sense, and yet if you dislike that you're(again) a "n00b" or a fan boy who hasn't been playing games long enough, started out with the PS2, whatever.

Augh, oh well. I typed this up rather quickly, only because my 100% completion about an hour ago hyped me up a bit and I didn't feel like proof reading. And, yeah, I realize I'm posting it a bit late. But, seriously, for anyone who never got a chance to play this, if you own a PS3 or PSP, go download it. As for me, I need to catch up on some sleep...

Remember a time when you could walk into a game store and find "Mega Man" available on more consoles than just the DS? Remember when Mega Man was a ridiculously fast moving series, with new games coming out every few months? Those were good times, because even though there were never any largely significant changes made within the series as time went on, fans could always count on the same fast-paced and familiar experiences of exploring various levels and blasting away at Wily's robots. It was a simple and fun experience, and yet very challenging at the same time. Affectionately known as the Blue Bomber, and also as Rockman in the land of gaming (Japan), Mega Man made his debut in a traditional action-platformer on Nintendo's famous NES console. The weapon-copy system that was brought forth in that classic title has remained a fundamental concept governing nearly all Mega Man follow-ups and spin-offs to date. This is what makes Mega Man who he is. He's one of the biggest influential gaming series to me, and in general, not to mention a down-right awesome character.



But, I'll admit as much as I love the Classic series, nothing beats out the first X game in my mind. Mega Man's basic game play elements - run, jump, shoot and slide, were all greatly improved on with the introduction of the X series. Before the addition of the wall climbing and faster speed boosts that X received, the play style felt awkward. The Classic series offered more of a challenge in that the player wasn't given more options to dodge enemy attacks. It's based more around how fast you can shoot(and hit) and time a few slides. X can run+jump at the same time, making most attacks easily avoidable. It feels much smoother and gives off a greater sense of control.



When it comes to boss battles, the Mega Man games are (in)famous. The X series went from "man" based robots to animals. You have birds, tigers, elephants, whales - literally everything; oh and every now and then you have a plant of some sort. Rather than looking incredibly sleek and smooth, they're much more metallic in appearance. Vile especially, even if he is basically a Boba Fett clone.

There is a lot of originality seen here, both in design and strategy. You face off against Flame Mammoth on his own turf, a moving conveyor belt that always attempts to bring you in closer to the fire-spouting beast. Sting Chameleon lives up to his name by being able to blend in with his surroundings, making any shots aimed at him during certain periods hit nothing but air. You can defeat all of the Mavericks fair-and-square with just your default X-buster if you are that way inclined (something that is made nearly impossible in other Mega Man action games), or you can opt to use the ‘borrowed' attacks that you have obtained from fallen foes. It's also not just a case of 1 weapon ‘pwning' each boss here, as it is with the majority of this series; sure you have an advantage with some of them, but it's not always mega-stun and mega-damage to all. For example, using the Boomerang Cutter on Launch Octopus will allow you chop off his tentacles, rendering him unable to launch anymore homing fishes or grab you to absorb your life-force. His patterns will then change accordingly; he will still prove to be a good match, but with less offensive power.

Each stage has such a unique tune that fits the exact area you're actually running through, whether it's Spark Mandrill's, Storm Eagle's, or Armored Armadillo's stage. They all have such great up-beat tunes that never get old. None of them are drowned out by the god-awful heavy metal that seemed to plague the X series at a later date.



The uniqueness of the level designs found in the earlier Classic Mega Man and X games is really what made the series so great. The levels didn't have overwhelming difficulty, and they were designed in clever and interesting ways that weren't geared towards breaking your health bar to bits. Each level takes place in uniquely designed individual areas, and each one plays just as distinctly to suit. The forest features wood-chopping axe-bots and various wild animal-bots, while the mines are loaded with plenty of bat-bots and over-sized tunnelling machinations. There are also plenty of environmental hazards including quicksand, electrified floors and cave-quakes depending on the location. Mega Man X tries to offer up something different all the time; you may be riding a mine-cart at high speed, smashing through any enemies in your way, and then before you know it you're being flung off into a situation where you've got to make your way out of a claustrophobic tunnel as fast as possible, before a drilling machine in hot pursuit catches up with your behind.



There is hardly ever a slow section in this game; the momentum is pretty much always in full swing. Each level is long enough to throw a good challenge at you, while being short enough to ensure that you don't ever get bored.

Mega Man X remains as my favorite action side-scrolling platformer of all time, and it really ranks high as an elite in the realm of 2D gaming. There's just something about it - there's always something awesome going on, the ambience was captivating in it's time and brings in a lot of wonderful nostalgia these days, and it just so happens that this is the kind of game that you can play regularly without ever getting tired of it.

While sitting around at home by myself this afternoon with nothing to do but masturbate or eat, I glanced over at my "book" shelf that holds 85% of my game collection in an obsessively arranged manner and decided to dust off my old N64. Purely for nostalgic sake, I started up almost every one of my games, even Quest 64. None of them had me hooked for any length of time, until I popped in an old childhood gem - Super Smash Bros. It took about thirty tries before my N64 booted it up correctly. Being the avid Brawl and Melee player that I am, and having not played this one in about, oh, six years - I expected an incredibly awkward and horrific time playing through classic mode. To my surprise and with the help of the excruciating boredom, the game had me hooked for a good hour and a half of simply playing through classic with just about every character aside from Jiggly Puff.



Yeah, compared to the huge selection available in Brawl this probably seems like nothing to newer gamers who were perhaps not first introduced to this one, but at the time it was huge. The first time I had ever touched this game was at my friends house when I was about six or seven. I almost(or did) wet my pants at the thought of being able to duke it out with my favorite Nintendo characters. My friend thought Samus was a robot and I had no idea who the f*ck Captain Falcon was. On top of that, Ness made it as one of the hidden four. Ness, of all characters. It was so random and awesome that I could actually play as the unpopular and misunderstood psychic boy from down the street and team up with Luigi to wipe the floor with Mario and Link. And Captain Falcon? Anytime you Falcon Punched another player off the stage, it felt like a huge accomplishment. He was so fast, but not too the point where he had a hard time aiming attacks.

It's all about grabbing in this one. Even with a mere 20%, a grab will throw you half way across any stage. Sorry folks, no sidestep dodging here. Just put up your shield, roll, and grab.



Pikachu? Even better. This game came out during my Pokemon fanboy years, so I was foaming at the mouth. Thunderbolting Chansey out of Saffron city and then getting thrown off by a surprise Porygon was so ridiculously awesome. Hell, I remember waiting ten minutes on that stage just so I could see Moltress fly by in the background, or toss enough Pokeballs to see Mew do nothing or Goldeen flop around. Wobbuffet? Hell no! That useless bastard is no where to be seen, and neither is that fat ass Munchlax. It's all about Beedrill, Blastoise, Hitmonlee and Onyx.



An epic moment in gaming history. The first time you faced off against the "Master Hand" was a terrifying moment and one that I'll never forget. When I first confronted this beast, I honestly thought I was fighting Bongo Bongo from Ocarina of Time. Maybe it was the stage? Who knows? Either way, defeating this boss was no easy task. Shield rolling and smash attacks...alright, f*ck so it's easy as hell, but I damn well bet it wasn't the first time. When you reduced this hand to 0% and got a chance to fire lasers at those damn credits, you accomplished something. I don't f*cking know what that just may be, but it was certainly something. Your character is thrown into a box as though he was simply a toy, the credits roll, and you're given an awesome "congratulations" screen for your trouble. This one here? Awesome sauce.



So, what now? This game either needs to be released on the Wii's Virtual Console, or some bored dude living in his basement needs to give us a good N64 emulator. There's only so much nostalgia can do to save the N64 controller from it's broken state. A quick glance at it reveals that it was not meant for fighting games. After all, the system was (is) built around smooth, interactive platformers and classic, strafe-aim-reload first-person shooters. Fighters, much less 4 player fighters, are rare on this system, and successful ones are literally one-of-a-kind.

...Party game my ass.