This is not a DDR homage in its original context (see the band’s music video for proof), but the animators of this fan-made clip makes a strong case for it to be one! I dug the massive amount of awesome cameos even more than the tune. Put a smile on my face, that’s for sure.
Original Artist – ItaloBrothers
Posted by WildcatJF on October 31, 2010
http://lvls.wordpress.com/2010/10/31/stamp-on-the-ground/
I’ve pulled some choice bits from the Halloween taping, but this take on Helping Hands is sheer brilliance, and is the shining point of the episode and the game, too. Start at 2:45, as the uploader padded the video with some WLISA? trivia for the entire stretch of episodes that came from this taping.
However, I’ll add in two other Halloween related clips for fun! Here’s a Let’s Make a Date where Brad serves up a fine take on Dracula:
Lastly, Wayne and Drew must survive a Horror themed restaurant:
Enjoy your Halloween!
Posted by WildcatJF on October 31, 2010
http://lvls.wordpress.com/2010/10/31/weekly-whose-line-happy-halloween/
The Happy Video Game Nerd has just released his review of Kenji Eno’s D2, completing his look at the D, uh, trilogy.
Personally, I think it’s fascinating when developers take experimental approaches to game design, even if the results turn out to be mixed. Derek does a great job of expressing his feelings in this regard, explaining that D2, like Eno’s other games, goes in bold new directions, but stumbles a little on the way. However, that’s only to be expected when a game tries something new and different.
Check out his review at Retroware TV: HVGN: D2
Only one video left in the HVGN’s three-part Halloween special! What could his final review be?
Posted by Nester on October 30, 2010
http://lvls.wordpress.com/2010/10/30/happy-video-game-nerd-d2/
In other, happier Megaman news, the winner of the Megaman Legends 3 Project protagonist poll has been revealed!
The character, said to be “as important as Roll and Tron” in their quest to retrieve Megaman from space, was initially to be one of nine character designs drawn up by various staff members of the Megaman dev team and voted for by fans of the series as part of the “dev room” concept (where fans partake in the development of the game). And I don’t just mean the Legends series – I mean all across the board. Artists for Classic, X, Battle Network, Zero and StarForce series all contributed as well, including recently-departed “father” of Megaman, Keiji Inafune. However, it was Shinsuke Komaki, whose past works can be found throughout the entire Megaman Battle Network and Star Force series (as well as Megaman 8, Megaman X3, Megaman X6, The Misadventures of Tron Bonne and Megaman Battle & Chase), who came away as the winner by over 2,000 votes.
(By the way, here’s the full version of the picture, which lists which place all nine entries came in. I had to crop it to the top three because it’s freaking huge.)
Now, I have to admit, Komaki’s design wasn’t my choice pick. I’d personally voted for Sensei Haruki Suetsugu’s (the native American-themed girl who took second place), and I also felt really strongly about Hideki Ishikawa’s (the black girl in the skirt that took sixth). Nonetheless, Komaki’s design would be tied in third with Ryuji Higurashi’s (the black girl in the shorts who came in fifth), and really it’s not that bad. Not overly complicated, but still visually appealing and memorable. (Also, it doesn’t make me feel like I’ve turned into a pedophile just by having seen it. I’m sorry, Tatsuya Yoshikawa and Kazushi Itou, but…come on.)
This is just the first step towards the development of one of the most anticipated Megaman games of all time, and while there’s still a long way yet to go, we fans will be involved with the process all the way through to the end. Here’s to the future, fellas.
Posted by TEi on October 29, 2010
http://lvls.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/megaman-legends-3-protagonist-has-been-confirmed/
Today is a bittersweet day to be a Megaman fan – or hell, a fan of Capcom in general, as Keiji Inafune, the father of all things Megaman related, has decided to leave the company.
Joystiq.com’s article on the situation:
According to Andriasang’s summary and translation of his blog post announcing the departure, Inafune declared he had no more “stairs” to climb within Capcom. “It would probably be good for me to sit gracefully in this seat and become a leading figure in the industry,” he wrote. “However, I cannot do this. Settling down means death for a creator. As long as you are a creator, you cannot settle down.”
Oh, man.
Inafune has been a powerhouse developer/director/producer in the gaming industry over the years, catching his big break in Megaman for the Nintendo Entertainment System back in 1987. While not the creator of the character or franchise, Inafune was brought on and originally tasked with creating two Robot Masters (which would later become Elecman and Bombman) and making the official art we’ve all seen by now. (You remember – back when Megaman’s face looked akin to a frog’s. While Inafune’s style has certainly developed over the years, he had a less-than-graceful beginning, as we all do.) Oh, and just a heads’ up: don’t believe anything any Wiki site says about Inafune’s start in the series. I have the Megaman Official Complete Works sitting on my lap right this moment, and I’m willing to trust official, printed media over digital information that can be freely edited by any random, uninformed schmuck the internet can cull up.
Left: Official art for the first Megaman, 1987. Right: Official art for Megaman 10, 2010. Both done by Keiji Inafune. Twenty-three is a lot of years to practice.
Since his introduction to the company, Inafune has moved on to become the leading figure in all things Megaman, a series so popular that it has generated seven spin-off series, and there currently exist over one-hundred games that sport the Megaman moniker – even if they don’t always star a variation of the Blue Bomber. On top of this, though, he’s been involved with other prolific Capcom series such as Dead Rising, Onimusha and Resident Evil; saying the man isn’t one talented, professional motherfucker is a bold-faced lie.
I guess Inafune’s departure from the company he’s been employed with for the past twenty-three years shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, though. Early last month, Inafune expressed displeasure at Japanese game development teams, claiming that they’ve fallen complacent and aren’t keeping their eyes on the prize, instead satisfied to create games tailored for the Japanese gaming culture, rather than thinking on a world-wide scale. He even accused Capcom itself of the very same while still on the company’s dollar (would “yen” be a more appropriate word to apply this turn of phrase?). If that doesn’t take some serious Spaldings, I dunno what does. Still, a man so frustrated with his peers and with enough power and cash to move on whenever he wanted to, those complaints could also have doubled for the future – easy as it is to say in hindsight.
While Inafune will definitely be missed, there’s no doubt that he’s a brilliant mind. Now that he’s free of the binds of production, he can return back to creating – the one thing that made all of his franchises so successful. He’s not the first person to father an incredibly popular game franchise to move on, either: Masahiro Sakurai and Shu Takumi, the creators of the Kirby and Ace Attorney game series respectively, have decided that after a lengthy tenure with their titles, it was time to move on and leave their creations in another’s hand. Hell, even the entire 3D Realms team has been liquidated and reformed into Triptych Games, and have passed the rights to Duke Nukem over to Gearbox Software – which is how we will finally get our hands on Duke Nukem Forever. These franchises are still lucrative today – and if not monetarily, then in following. (Aimed at the Duke Nukem stuff here.)
Megaman will continue on in Inafune’s absence, and all we can do is wish him the best of luck.
Posted by TEi on October 29, 2010
http://lvls.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/a-bittersweet-day-to-be-a-megaman-fan/
On October 29th at about 7 pm EDT/4 pm PDT, TheSpeedGamers will begin their annual Halloween marathon. This year, they’ll be playing the Castlevania series.
Curiously, they have not provided very many specific details about this marathon beforehand. They have not been very forthcoming with which games will be included, which charity they’re representing, or even how long the marathon will last. I’ve gotten the impression that the marathon will only last about 48 hours, but may stretch to 72.
It seems that they will be raising money for Rocking H Ranch, which is not a charity in itself. Rather, like TheSpeedGamers, themselves, Rocking H Ranch raises money to donate to various other charities. An odd choice, indeed. Their initial goal is $8,000.
It’s unusual for TheSpeedGamers to be so vague, especially this close to the beginning of a marathon. If any details are clarified, I’ll be sure to update, but with the marathon so near, it would probably be best to keep an eye on their official website: www.thespeedgamers.com.
Update:
Here is the full list of games that will be played during the marathon:
As usual, it’s likely things will be shuffled around during the marathon, so expect some additions and subtractions.
Posted by Nester on October 28, 2010
http://lvls.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/thespeedgamers-castlevania-marathon-2010/
The HVGN, Derek Alexander, is back for his annual Halloween video. This time he’s taking a look at Kenji Eno’s Enemy Zero for the Sega Saturn. The sci-fi horror game was a spiritual follow-up to the cult classic D, which Derek already covered two years ago. Check out the video at the link below.
Derek has teased that he’ll actually be releasing three videos for Halloween this year, so we can expect to see more very soon!
Posted by Nester on October 28, 2010
http://lvls.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/happy-video-game-nerd-enemy-zero/
The Game: A 2D action-platform game in which you play as a vampire hunter who must travel across Europe, fight various monsters, and stop a female vampire from resurrecting Dracula.
Why it’s a Favorite: It’s a little hard to explain why this is my favorite of the traditional Castlevania games, but as usual, it’s mainly a combination of things.
Rather than taking place entirely within Dracula’s castle, the levels are spread across Europe. This allows for a refreshing variety of settings, from the ruins of Atlantis as the sun sets, to an unstable Leaning Tower of Piza, to a German munitions factory. It also provides a good feeling of progression.
There are also two characters to play as, including traditional whip-wielder John Morris, and one of my favorite Castlevania characters, Eric Lecarde. Eric and his trademark Alucard Spear would go on to appear in two more games in the series.
Bloodlines' atmosphere hits the right note.
Bloodlines can also be thought of as the last great “traditional” Castlevania game before Symphony of the Night took the series in a different direction. Some may see it as a step backwards after games like Super Castlevania IV, with its flexible controls, and Rondo of Blood, with its alternate levels and hidden areas. It’s true that it sticks pretty closely to its NES roots, at least from a mechanical standpoint, but it still tried new ideas, and for the most part, nailed them.
Memorable Moments: Hearing the “Theme of Simon” kick in before facing Dracula.
Posted by Nester on October 28, 2010
http://lvls.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/nesters-favorite-games-castlevania-bloodlines-1994/
NOTE – This was originally written before playing Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, which I am now crowning my favorite game of 1997. However, for this entry only I will be keeping the original Goldeneye 007 notes as part of the article. International Superstar Soccer 64 was removed to make way for Symphony – I find ISS 98 to be much better, anyway, which is covered in Looking Back’s 1998 entry.
Freshmen Year. That’s what 1997 was all about. My eighth grade year wasn’t shabby – I met Chris and became good friends with him, Chad and I were as tight as we ever were, I had a new crush (more on that), my classes were fun, and my adversary from past years had moved up to high school, so things were not terrible. That had to end, though. Freshmen year was returning to the bottom rung…with THREE grades looking down upon you. I had no hearsay in my classes, so I ended up stuck in a Drafting class I hated (and failed on purpose). I got beaned with pennies and with gum. My antagonist was wandering around again. My crush would only be glimpsed on the bus ride, as she was still in middle school. I didn’t end up seeing Chad or Chris all that often at school. We had to dress out for PE, wearing dorky PE clothes. I was not much for the public nudist act, so I disliked being stuck in a locker room.
In retrospect, the games below were big reasons why 1997 means anything to me now. A ton of time was spent battling it out on Nintendo 64′s scattered across our friends, and new multiplayer excursions were often tried out and tested between all of us. I had a subscription to Game Players and Next Generation, and was able to keep tabs on what was shaking in the N64 world and beyond, which was nice.
The crush of 1997. Heh. It’s funny to say now, but I remember seeing her for the first time and having that clichéd “love at first sight” smattering. She was cute, to be sure. I was terribly shy, though, so I never talked to her much in my early crushing days. It took a couple of years, and we would say hi and occasionally chat. Little did she know that she was huge to me – I had incorporated her into my art, thought about her all the time. In three years, that fleeting fancy would be crushed and shattered unlike I had experienced before. I’m not sure how often I mention it here, but I abstain from drinking. I’ll stay off my soapbox for now, but I have had very strong reservations about alcohol consumption for a long time, and one day she revealed to me how she got a cold that was bugging her – from drinking too much and diving into a freezing pond. It truly felt like something inside my brain snapped and drained. I continued the conversation, but I never really talked to her again after that, which was a bit of an ass-y thing to do, I suppose, looking back on it. However, I was devastated about it for some time…but I recovered. Heh. It’s really goofy how I as a teenager reacted to things like this, like the world would ignite and pull itself apart because a girl drinks. XD Sheesh. In any event, I don’t regret my past here, as Grace is beyond my wildest dreams, much more than any prior crush I had or even fathomed. It’ll be fun talking about how we met and got to be a couple in a few posts.
Shortlist:
Goldeneye 007 (N64, Nintendo/Rare)
Rare’s first stab at a FPS turned out to be a revolution in terms of design – enemies became smarter and reacted to where they were shot, objectives spiced up the game’s levels, and it became a multiplayer sensation.
Bomberman 64 (N64, Hudson)
Bomberman’s N64 debut was a well-executed platformer, with engaging levels, lots of secrets to hunt down, and a robust multiplayer mode.
Star Fox 64 (N64, Nintendo)
Nintendo’s Fox McCloud returned to space for his second mission, and the tight shooting action was phenomenal. Arguably the best in the series alongside its SNES counterpart.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1, Konami)
Konami’s reinvention of the Castlevania franchise into a more Metroid-esque exploration was a brilliant move, and the excellent gameplay, music and spritework made it all the more incredible.
In my opinion, the second best game of 1997 was…
Goldeneye 007 (Nintendo/Rare)
Goldeneye truly is a special game. It sort of appeared out of nowhere with a massive cloud of hype surrounding it, and it quickly became the go-to game for get-togethers with my middle/high school chums. We spent countless hours trailing each other in the game’s vast multiplayer levels, often utilizing the Golden Gun for maximum thrills. I don’t know if we felt any more bonded than when we were blasting it out in 007.
Thankfully, the game’s single player was also excellent, enabling us to compete for cheats when we were alone. It became a badge of honor to get particular ones without a Gameshark – I managed to get the tricky Invincibility cheat before my friends did after many replays trying to storm through the Facility stage, to finally shave off precious seconds to slide in at 2 minutes and 3 seconds, 2 seconds shy of the barrier required to enable it. One of my strongest memories, for sure. When I wasn’t battling my friends for bragging rights, I was enraptured by Rare’s mastery of their control scheme, which seamlessly made James Bond’s actions mirror my commands. Responsive, quick and nigh-perfect, I adored every second spent with Goldeneye.
As I ponder my past and what games made the biggest impact upon me, Goldeneye 007 is handily in the Top 5. Without a doubt. It gave me an equal place with my friends (some of whom didn’t want to cough up such entitlement otherwise), a conversation piece when we were at school, and an everlasting fondness few games have managed. Despite the many advances the genre has seen since Goldeneye’s initial rattling of the foundation, it’s solid gameplay fun.
Some personal anecdotes:
Baron Samadi or Natalya were my MP characters. Samadi I’ve always thought was awesome thanks to Live and Let Die (the only Roger Moore 007 film I care to watch), while with Natalya I tend to enjoy playing as females in games like these. Xenia was a little over-the-top for my liking.
The last cheat I had to unlock was the Silver PP7, and I’m ashamed to admit it, but it was achieved with the aid of a Gameshark. XD
I was a backstabbing bastard in MP. If I caught on fire with the Golden Gun, I was an assassin. There were times I went for minutes without dying, slaying anyone in my wake. Goldeneye had that knack for empowering all players – I’m sure my friends feel that they had amazing streaks in 007, too.
My copy is signed by Mr. Jaws himself, Richard Kiel. It’s one of my more precious games because of it. Kiel’s a nice guy, too. He used to live nearby, and my mom ran right into his bellybutton once. :p
Activision’s new take on the game intrigues me, and I may pick it up, but I’m going to try to enjoy it on its own merits. It will never replicate the classic, no matter how hard they advertise it as such. I hope it’s a fun game, though.
In my opinion, the best game of 1997 was…
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1, Konami)
After years and years of watching this game continually land on platforms I did not own, and then, once I had a console capable of playing it (the PS2), it was incredibly scarce and/or expensive to obtain, I truly wondered if I’d be fortunate enough to play through a game my old Neomega comrades hailed the best of all time as a group (without my vote!). I knew that when I got a PS3, I could DL it, but owning a physical copy had been much more preferable to me. So, imagine my surprise when a new acquittance from the Hardcore Gaming 101 forums offered to send me a copy of the game his sister didn’t want! I was stoked! So, after playing through the portable CV’s that aped the formula begun here, would I find the original to be superior? Would it show its age, not really living up to the praise? What if I found it jerky or unappealing? Questions like this bounced in my head as I awaited the mail to arrive. And I stopped playing through my newly gained Christmas Wii games (which were all excellent!) to begin this ASAP. Those long years, the sheer anticipation of this game’s excellence finally came to an ahead as I plopped it into the PS2 and started it up.
I quickly answered my questions, and they were Yes, No, and No. This is a game worthy of its accolades, and worthy of its status as a fantastic piece of gaming entertainment. Despite its shoddy voice work and iffy plot, the game’s rich gameplay and appealing level design made stepping into the boots of Alucard an enjoyable one. Alucard has an incredible set of talents that are almost all fun to use, and the game gives you ample opportunity to experiment with the possibilities it provides and allow gamers to work with what appeals to them best. It’s got a lot of hidden goodies to hunt down to power up Alucard, plus a meaty selection of weaponry and armor to equip him with. And the enemy lineup is beautifully animated and diverse. It’s obvious why Konami continues to recycle them in later CV’s – the quality was astounding. And the backdrops have not been matched in any sequel. Save a few hokey 3D effects that look terrible now, the game is a gorgeous treat to the eyes to watch, and is full of clever touches that show how much care went into making them.
Michiru Yamane was given free reign to compose the soundtrack (save a track or two), and she outdid herself with Symphony’s luscious score. The GBA and DS games have some amazing tracks (and I still find Portrait’s to be the best), but Yamane on CD is a audible glory. It makes me wish more 2D games ended up on consoles so I could hear those soundtracks stretch out and utilize better instrumentation.
All and all, Symphony wowed me, much like Super Metroid did in the Gamecube era. While I was not as thoroughly amazed as I was with Super Metroid, I found Symphony to be the high point of a very storied franchise, one that I greatly enjoy and treasure as a favorite. So that’s saying something.
Some personal anecdotes:
Massive thanks to Jason X at the HG101 forums for mailing this to me. I need to post there more. XD I traded him Metroid Prime 3: Corruption for it – I hope he likes it more than me. I certainly relished my end of the deal!
The voice work is indeed atrocious. Ricther was BAD, Dracula was campy, Maria was so-so at best, and Alucard tried to be okay, and usually reached that goal, but stuttered along the way. I really wish there was an option to turn them off, but hey – what can you do.
It’s the newest game on my Top 20 list (went up January 2011!), so I don’t have a ton of memories about it quite yet. I do want to replay it this summer though. 
Bomberman 64 (1997 video game)
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
GoldenEye 007 (1997 video game)
The House of the Dead (video game)
International Superstar Soccer 64
Posted by WildcatJF on October 27, 2010
http://lvls.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/looking-back-my-favorite-game-from-1997/
Quality isn’t super hot – sorry.
I discovered Jimmy Eat World through Bleed American (song and album), and was quite floored by how awesome it was. Imagine my surprise to learn of their two prior albums, Static Prevails and Clarity, and how much more I loved them than the CD I first acquired. I’ve always found Claire to be the strongest song off of Static Prevails – it’s got some great transitions, intriguing lyrics and real emotion pouring out of it. It also became a slight anthem of sorts for my OC Claire…although it’s not the cheeriest song in the world.
I would have went with something off of Invented (their latest CD), but I haven’t listened to it enough to determine what song I like the most yet. As usual, it takes a few listens for a JEW disc to settle on me, and I’m still developing that as of right now.
Posted by WildcatJF on October 27, 2010
http://lvls.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/music-wednesdays-jimmy-eat-worlds-claire/
