Game Over

Link needs to go to Hell

Fri, 23 Nov 2012 16:07:00 -0500

This is actually a very interesting take on the Zelda franchise and its relation to mythological tropes.

xuza: Legend of Zelda Spiritual Stones Set GIVEAWAY!! Hey...

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 12:19:38 -0400

Legend of Zelda Spiritual Stones Set GIVEAWAY!!

Hey everyone! In the excitement of finally having these finished, I’m doing a giveaway for a full set of these lovely resin-cast pendants! One lucky reblogger will have these three mailed to them - and you can have them as necklaces, as keychains, or without any mounting screws (decorative pieces)!

They’re available for sale at our Etsy Shop, as well!

RULES:

Reblog this to enter! But only once!

Likes/follows don’t count.

Giveaway ends Tuesday, July 31 at 7pm EST!

Winner will be announced/contacted by the following Friday

I don’t know about the rest of ya, but if you are interested you ought to go check this out.

I was just watching the Nintendo E3 conference, and while they...

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 14:53:04 -0400

I was just watching the Nintendo E3 conference, and while they didn’t show this, I really hope they just sneak this out last minute like they did with Skyward Sword. Because I will cry tears of sadness if this isn’t real.

Right, this might be weird that I’m reblogging this on my...

Tue, 01 May 2012 20:31:00 -0400

Right, this might be weird that I’m reblogging this on my video game blog, but this what happens when you run two blogs.

But you know what, its fine. This is for an awesome cause.

Lego Zelda?

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 19:00:23 -0400

Lego Zelda?:

Legos are awesome. I’ve played with them since I was a child, creating entire little worlds. Legos such as the Harry Potter theme set were always my favorite though. I loved building the Hogwarts Express, the Knight Bus and the castle, playing with them like any normal little girl would play with Barbies or whatever.

There is currently a petition out there for a Legend of Zelda LEGO set to be made. The Legend of Zelda series is my favorite series of all time, and for it to be an actual LEGO set, well, I might be broke.

So, Zelda fans and game fans a like, go show your support and make this happen!

Now, normally I don’t like rap. At all. But when I was...

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 00:52:00 -0400

Now, normally I don’t like rap. At all. But when I was browsing GoNintendo for something interesting, I came across this video.

Roboboots presents an awesome take on Lana Dey Rey’s song and actually makes it about video games instead of a love song.

While the new lyrics actually make the song actually about video games, they keep the original message of a love song. A nerdy love song now, but aren’t those the best kind?

The video itself was pretty good for the most part. I thought that some clips could have been different or better timed, but overall it was very well put togethor.

tinycartridge: Super Mario earbuds. I don’t know how the sound...

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 21:30:19 -0400

tinycartridge:

Super Mario earbuds. I don’t know how the sound quality is on these, but I don’t think any audiophiles are looking to buy headphones with a little Mario clinging to the cord.

If you want people to have fond memories of the NES when they look at your ear holes, you can pick up one of these three designs at Strapya for $25.10.
Buy: Nintendo 3DS (Flame Red, Pearl Pink, Black, & Blue)
Find: Nintendo DS/3DS release dates, discounts, & more
See also: More accessories

As a The Legend of Zelda fan, I’ve seen a lot of...

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 22:11:00 -0400

As a The Legend of Zelda fan, I’ve seen a lot of impressive arrangements done by Zelda fans from original pieces to compositions using the tunes from the game. Zelda Meldley by Lindsey Stirling is easily one of the best by far.

She mixes familiar tunes such as the Zelda Theme, Overworld, Saria’s Song, Gerudo Valley masterfully, and her transition into each theme is flawless. Her violin playing is superb, and mixes well into the instruments in the background.

The music video itself shows that a lot of effort had went into it. Her Link outfit is top notch and well crafted. The locations and props used also added well into the whole Zelda theme, and her bounding around in her environments made the video fun to watch.

For those who enjoyed Lindsey’s music, you can throw money at her here for her Zelda Medley or get the sheet music to play the music yourself here.

In one of my previous posts I talked about how video game art is...

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 02:58:49 -0400

In one of my previous posts I talked about how video game art is a serious business to gamers, and I mentioned how video game fans love to draw fan art of their favorite series.

This is one such example.

This piece done by cartoongirl7 on DeviantArt (and if you click the photo it will take you to the original picture on her page) was completed on April 26, 2009. It is a masterfully done piece of art which has the inclusion of 16 different games from the Nintendo DS.

According to the artist comments “the sketching was the hardest and longest part, for sure. Coloring went relatively smooth except for those little elebits that’s practically invading every corner of the picture. The smallest one is about 1/3 the size of my fingernail. I spent some time studying the art of each game because I didn’t want to deviate TOO far from the original style. Each game has its own way of lining and coloring, and I tried to incorporate those aspects into my own style without having everything look like a huge mess. I ended up with a somewhat organized clutter.

Drawing and coloring the picture was only half battle. Connecting three separately scanned pictures took about five hours on its own. I became very acquainted with the clone tool because of this. Sadly, a lot of the colors and shades were lost through scanning. I had to go back and adjust individual colors to make it look like the original, but there are still some that can’t be fixed (darn those reds and oranges).”

Just the amount of time and effort (over 60 hours) is commendable enough. The sheer fact this artist took the time to study the different styles and mix it in with her own is incredible and has really showed through. She even managed to include the personalities of each of the characters and have them interact with the picture (and each other) in a way which somehow made sense. Considering the different type of personalities, that is quite impressive.

Personally I enjoy the bright colors and the whole originality of the piece. I honestly think she accomplished what she set out to do. If I had a bit more of a background in art work, I would be able to give a more of a detailed critique, but since I don’t this will just have to do.

Dream Game: Digimon the MMORPG

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 04:57:14 -0400

As people may have noticed from my “liked” posts (which I have been trying to figure out how to hide to no avail) I love Digimon. With the ending of Digimon Xros Wars: The Young Hunters Who Leapt Through Time (which wasn’t that great until Ruki Makino had a cameo for like 30 seconds) I found myself wishing there was a good Digimon game out there.

Not to say all the Digimon games which have been released are bad. Most have just been lackluster. This is where the Pokemon franchise has been beating the Digimon franchise to the ground. This is rather unfortunate considering the rich story telling the Digimon series has done over the years.

Most animes save one world. Digimon saves two.

With the Wii U supposedly coming out at the end of this year, and the other big gaming companies no doubt making their own eighth generation consoles, a really awesome Digimon game shouldn’t be that hard to make.

Here are my own suggestions as a fan and a gamer to make the best Digimon game ever:

1) Original Storyline.

This really doesn’t go without saying. But I’m going to say it anyways. Original stories for games that are based off of anime series are awesome because players feel like they are going on their own adventure and aren’t dictated by the actions of what had happened in the show. Because Digimon is a series that has a new story for each season, this should be rather easy to accomplish.

2) Subtle Nods to the Anime

As a fan, I would love nods to the anime series. Just like how The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker made subtle nods to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, I would like to see the game make references to the animated series.

3) Freedom

When I say freedom, I mean freedom. I want to be able to explore the whole city which the game takes place in (and possibly surrounding areas) and the entire Digital World. (Yes, the entire Digital World.) I don’t want overworld quick travel. I want to run around in an expansive environment and explore each nook and cranny of the two worlds.

In addition, I want to create my own character. This goes from the sex and what my character looks like to the type of Digivice my character has. There has been an introduction of six Digivices in the show. I want to be able to choose which type of Digidestined I will be, and how my choice will determine what I can and can’t do.

Choose your level of bad ass.

In addition, I feel I shouldn’t be limited to the Digimon partners which have been established in the show. Each Digivice should come with a whole array of possible Digimon partners to choose from.

4) Customization

I want to be able to customize my character as I go on in the game. I think this would be an interesting way to establish a money system and make those who refuse to spend their money on anything in the game (such as me) on items.

For example, in addition to buying supplies such as potions, cards (for the Tamers), maps, etc., players can buy new clothes and accessories or get hair cuts and the like.

5) Graphics

We are in an era where graphics means everything to a player. So, even though the rest of the game is this amazing thing, if the graphics aren’t that great people will be less likely to buy it. Is this shallow? You betcha. But it’s true.

This is a screenshot from the movie Digital Monster X-Evolution. This was made in 2005. We are in the year 2012. I don’t think asking for amazing graphics is too much to ask for.

6) Online Playability

Playing video games by yourself is fine and dandy, but playing with friends is even better. Playing with complete strangers is the best. MMORPGs are incredibly popular with gamers. Just look at games such as World of Witchcraft. Tons of players meet and battle in this online world.

What could be interesting is having a single player campaign story which must be beaten before you can join the online community. When players play online, they will be playing a whole new story which is a continuation from the single player campaign.

These are just my own ideas for what would be an awesome Digimon game from a view point of a fan and a gamer. Of course other gamers and fans will have their own opinions.

So Digimon fans, what is your dream Digimon game?

I love Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker just as much as I love...

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:41:35 -0400

I love Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker just as much as I love summer. And this jaunty little tune has managed to tie both of these things up into one neat little package with an uptempo beat which will have you swaying along to the rhythm.

It has a tunes reminiscent of the Beach Boys, and is a song which you could easily find in a Broadway musical about some over the summer coming to age story.

It’s very catchy and even though a fan of the series can catch the subtle references to the game, one doesn’t need to be a fan of the series or the game to enjoy the song.

This song is one of many which can be found at OC Remix. OC Remix describes themselves on their ‘About Us’ page as an “organization dedicated to the appreciation and promotion of video game music as an art form. Its primary focus is www.ocremix.org, a website featuring thousands of free fan arrangements, information on game music and composers, resources for aspiring artists, and a thriving community of video game music fans.”

Fans of video game music should definitely check this site out.

Video Games are an Art?

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 02:46:46 -0400

Video Games are an Art?:

Video game art is serious business to gamers. When video games are reviewed, the graphics of the game are taken into serious consideration, especially in today’s era. So, the fact that the Smithsonian Museum is having a whole exhibit dedicated to video game art is totally awesome.

Many people think video games are nothing more than huge explosions and killing people. This only makes up a good majority of the games out there. Video games are also about story and art. Just look all over the web. Gamers are always drawing fan art (and writing fan fiction, but this post isn’t about the writing aspect, so we’ll just ignore that for now) and throwing money at game companies if they release an art book on their favorite game or game series.

Shut up and take my rupees.

To be honest, I’m surprised something of this scale hasn’t happened earlier. Little video game art galleries have been popping up here and there, but they typically focused on fan art instead of official art from the games themselves and how it evolved over the years.

So, kudos to the Smithsonian for putting this exhibit together. Hopefully we can see more of this type of thing in the future.

Playing as a Male

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 02:34:00 -0400

I just recently started a new Pokémon game on Pokémon HeartGold. “Are you a boy? Or are you a girl?” Prof. Oak’s question of my sexuality popped up on the screen. As if I didn’t know my own sex. I tap the stylus on the “boy” option. I’m a girl.

Ever since I was little, I have always played as a ‘guy’ in video games. Many of the games I played while I was a kid, I had no other option but to play as a guy. However as I grew older, I had the choice to play as my own sex. A choice I often disregard without a second thought.

I never liked playing as a girl. Whether it be my avatar in Pokémon or a character in Super Smash Brothers Brawl, I always opt for the guy. There have been very few exceptions to this rule; I can only name a couple of instances from the top of my head.

After several minutes of thinking, I finally remembered an instance…

It’s not that I don’t like the female characters in the games I play. They’re usually my favorite characters in fact. For example, in Tales of Symphonia for the Nintendo GameCube, my favorite characters are Sheena and Raine. I played the entire game as Lloyd though.

Guys in video games are simply stronger. They can take and deal more damage than their female companions. However, it’s not as if the girls are weak. Females in video games when not cast as the princess in distress are usually magicians, healers or archers. And those who do wield swords and battle in the front lines make up for their lack of strength with speed. However, these roles are simply not fit for how I play.

However, there is always the badass bounty hunter…

When I play video games, I get right up in my opponent’s face and hack away with my sword until they are simply a corpse on the ground. (That is until they respawn - everybody knows that death isn’t permanent.) Of course I expect to be hit in the process, but with a guy I don’t have to keep my eye on the health bar as much when I’m spamming the A button in order to bring the bastard down. For me, playing as a female is like driving a car with a cop tailing you - one eye on the speedometer and the other on the road. One wrong movement and you’re good as dead. (And dead in the cop scenario means getting pulled over and getting a ticket.)

Aw shit…

And even if the female character is just as strong as her male counterpart, she is usually dressed as a skank. I’m sorry, I simply do not want to play as a half-dressed woman. The legions of males who also play this game might appreciate it, but I do not. Give me a half-dressed good looking man though, and we’ll talk.

I’m a girl. No which way around it. However that doesn’t mean I have to play as one. The whole point of video games is to enter a universe separate from our own. In the world of video game, I can be anybody who I want to be. And I choose to be a boy.

Lunar Legend LP 1 Part 2

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 19:56:24 -0500

Lunar Legend LP 1 Part 2

Lunar Legend LP 1 Part 1

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 19:54:36 -0500

Lunar Legend LP 1 Part 1

Love Hina Advanced

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 04:48:00 -0500

Ever since I read The World God Only Knows, I’ve always wanted to play a dating sim. I even went out of my way to obtain a Sony PSP because I was under the impression that’s the platform said dating games came out for.

This man is an inspiration to us all.

I still have to obtain a dating sim for the PSP. Luckily for me, the PSP has an abundance of RPGs and other type of games I’m excited to play, so my money was well spent.

But I have recently managed to find and play a dating sim, if you want to call it that.

Love Hina Advanced is a game for the Nintendo Gameboy Advanced based off the popular manga and anime series, Love Hina. Love Hina is one of those romantic comedies where an average, good for nothing guy manages to get lots of girls to fall in love with him proving once and for all its the personality that counts. The series itself is filled with rather delightful and deep characters who just grow on you over time as you root for your favorite female to win the main character’s heart. (Although, even from the outset it was obvious who was going to come out top dog in the end.)

Guess who the heroine is.

Love Hina Advanced manages to ignore all of this, scratching only at the surface of what is there. And by scratching at the surface, I really mean to say tickle it with a feather.

What I expected when I booted up the game was to take control of the main character Keitaro Urashima and progress slowly through the story, exploring the inn where the story was taking place and the surrounding area, all the while making slow progress in my relationship with the girls of the household. Instead what I got was being jerkily pulled through the story with the occasional option of controlling what Keitaro said with only a few seconds to think of my answer. If I chose the “wrong” thing, I would be injured. If I chose the “right” thing, I would get a heart. It’s so juvenile in its simplicity.

The game itself didn’t last that long. I went through like three “chapters” before I had to choose who I wanted to take out on a date. I decided to take Mitsune Konno because she was the only one who wasn’t doing anything. Then all of a sudden she starts asking me questions on things that never happened, and only by reading the manga and suburb guessing skills was I able to get some of them right. And once I answered the last question, the credits started to roll leaving me utterly flabbergasted.

I decided right then and there that this game was beyond saving, and just playing it for the other paths would be a complete waste of time.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love the series Love Hina. However, being a fan doesn’t redeem this game at all in the slightest. As a gamer, I feel utterly disgusted by its lack of depth and shoddy controls. The game itself was literally the anime, except without a single cut scene to make the obvious rip off worthwhile.

All in all, this game isn’t worth anybody’s time. Although the most dedicated Love Hina fans might enjoy this, the rest of the gaming community sure won’t.

TimeSplitters 2

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 17:02:00 -0500

I will be the first to admit it; I detest shooting games. I don’t understand why we need 20 different versions of Halo, Call of Duty, Modern Warfare, Battlefield, etc. It all boils down to Team A shooting at Team B and vice versa. And before you say anything, I know that’s the point of it, but I don’t see why we need a shelf full of the same type of game.

That being said, TimeSplitters 2 is quite possibly one of the greatest shooting games ever conceived. It sticks to the same “let’s shoot at each other” type MO that every shooter has, but it is so out there it stands out from the rest.

Now, if you asked me its story, I can honestly tell you I have no idea. Something about traveling through time to stop some sort of alien race from destroying mankind. It’s odd, its quirky and by the gods its awesome.

They just want some love!

I never played the single player mode because I’m not forever alone. (The fact that I played the co-op mode with my younger brother is completely irrelevant.) However, I’m assuming the levels are relatively the same except with the added bonus of a wing man to watch your back in co-op. Each stage takes place at a different point of time from the Wild West to Neo Tokyo. Your character takes on the form of a person from that particular time period, and you have certain objectives to complete. The hardest level by far is stalking an informant in Neo Tokyo. By the time we finally beat it, we had the entire route memorized, along with the time it took for the informant to complete it.

Although, rescuing these lovely ladies wasn’t exactly a walk in the park either.

However, the whole point of shooting games (unless I’m horribly misinformed) is the multi-player mode. There are 16 different modes that can be played, however only four are available to be played from the outset. My favorites by far are the Team Deathmatch and Capture the Bag. Although, I have a slightly bad habit of killing my own teammates, especially in Capture the Bag. That will teach them for capturing the opponent’s bag; that’s my job.

The multitude of weapons and characters to choose from is also a welcome change of pace. The characters themselves range from somewhat understandable (military men, robots, cowboys) to the complete ridiculousness (monkeys, snowmen, gingerbread men, zombies). There is nothing better than having a monkey torch a snowman with a flame thrower and watching him run around the level screeching “I’m melting, I’m melting!” Although, the best weapon by far is easily the brick.

An army of monkeys; just imagine the possibilities.

The multi-player mode itself is also incredibly customizable. You can choose what teams you are on, what weapons would appear in the level, the music of the level, the difficulty of the robots, how many robots will be on the field and which team they will be on. The best part though is at the end of the match receiving all the different awards and comparing them to the other players.

If you like playing shooters, and have not obtained this game you need to remedy this immediately. Even if you aren’t the biggest fan of shooters, this is one shooter you should at least give a chance too. I promise you won’t regret it. And if you do, you have no taste in good games.

Pokemon Black and White

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 10:29:00 -0500

With the advent of the sequel to Pokémon Black and White being announced, I felt this would be a perfect time to review the prequel and return to where the huge controversy all began.

Pokémon Black and White initially stirred up a lot of hype when it was released, just like any good Pokémon game would. American fans of the series were buying the Japanese version of the game, unable to wait the six months it would take to be released in the states. However, unless they were well versed in the Japanese language, they probably missed out on understanding a good part of the story.

They turned out to be the lucky ones.

While Pokémon Black and White did have a lot of good points to it, such as a beautiful over world, more cut scenes, a night and day cycle, a seasonal cycle, triple battles, the battle subway, Pokémon musicals and other semantics, the story was not one of them.

The best part of the story is that you have three rivals to contend with. Now I’m saying three to be nice to Bianca who isn’t really a rival as she is an overexcited child who has no idea what she is doing. But, considering her overbearing father figure, this is to be expected, so some slack and be cut here.

Now, the other two fit perfectly into the stereotypical rival role. Both show up at the most inappropriate times, have an unwarranted feeling of self-entitlement, want to be the Pokémon Champion, learn a valuable life lesson about Pokémon at the end of the game and have a legion of fan girls at their beck and call.

However, N and Cheren have one major important difference in terms of rivalry. N has a hat. Also, Cheren isn’t a complete and utter creeper who can easily be mistaken as a girl. In fact, I would go as far to say Bianca has more testosterone then N does.

Totally thought he was a girl the first time I saw him.

The evil organization Team Plasma puts all of the other organizations that had featured in the Pokémon series to shame. And by that I mean any right minded evil organization would not welcome them into their ranks because all Team Plasma ends up being is a bunch of hippies who are upset that their weed got taken away from them. I mean if you beat them up they give back your Pokémon that they stole. At least Team Rocket had the courtesy of you had to bring down their entire organization if you wanted to see your precious Pokémon again. And of course you could just count on some freaky tests had been done to it.

Take notes Team Plasma

And to be fair, I don’t even know why anybody would want these Pokémon in the first place. While Pokémon Black and White had a good idea of introducing 151 new Pokémon only to be used until you beat the Elite Four, they had to go and ruin it by making the Pokémon ugly as sin.

Yes, I know, I’m shallow.

Then after you beat the Elite Four, which was easy enough, the levels of everyone’s Pokémon raises exponentially. While this is a welcome change, everyone around you is 10 levels above you. And for some reason, Cynthia is in the game, which is awesome until she sends out her level 75 Spiritomb as her first Pokémon.

Overall, the game itself discounting the story is pretty good. It has managed to fix the little kinks and issues Pokémon players have had over the years, including making grinding easier for the player; although, it still is a tedious task only the certifiably insane enjoy. Even with its short comings story wise, Pokémon Black and White is still fun to play, which says a lot about the series if they can put something like this out there and for it still to be fun. Overall, I would recommend it, especially to those who don’t care about good story telling.