Happy New Year!

Hotel Dusk takes place on New Year’s (or there about), so that’s why you’re getting a seemingly random image. :p

Anyway, I plan on taking the night off, and while I may attempt to do some blog work tomorrow, I’m reckoning that my recent playlist of games (honestly, how does one stop playing Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Kirby’s Epic Yarn and Little King’s Story?  That’s blockbuster stuff right there) will counteract that effort, as well as spending time with Grace.  Sunday and Monday I’m slated to work, and unlike most days where I can fiddle around, it’s going to be serious returns/inventory stuff that’ll likely keep me away from the PC to post.  So I would expect that I’ll be back on Tuesday, barring any sort of miracle. :p

Anyway, enjoy the transition of years – here’s to 2011 being better!  See you there!

~ Wildcat

GameSpite looks back at Contra

Want to send 2010 out with a bang? Then head on over to GameSpite.net and check their latest article focusing on the NES version of Contra. It was even written by Konami’s Tomm Hulett who was an associate producer for the excellent Contra 4 on Nintendo DS.

After all, if you want bang, Contra delivers.

Virtual Console No-Shows: Golf (NES)

December was a fairly rich month for the Virtual Console, relatively speaking – this is the first day in the month I’ve had to write one of these (and it’s the last day to boot)!  I predict that the VC will be tanking in January, though, so expect more!

26. Golf (NES, Nintendo)

Brief Synopsis – One of Nintendo’s “black box” titles that came out relatively quick following the launch of the NES, this was one of Nintendo’s many spins of popular sports.  The courses here would become the basis for Wii Sports’ Golf mode, and Ossun, the portly golfer, made an appearance in Japan-only Captain Rainbow.  As for the game itself, it’s an early yet serviceable game of golf for the console, although others would eclipse it.

Why is it Missing? – Considering Nintendo has let loose every other NES sports game onto the Virtual Console save this and Pro Wrestling (which will be covered soon!), it’s a little baffling as to why Golf has not joined its sporting comrades as of right now.  Could the Wii Sports relation cause Nintendo to figure it would be pointless to release the original?  Could NES Open, Nintendo’s later golfing title, be the issue?  It’s unclear.  I know that Golf was included on Animal Crossing, so I don’t think there’s some odd licensing nitpick holding it back.  No clear statement has been made, and it’s never been rated, leaving me to guess that Nintendo just doesn’t feel compelled to let it pop up.

Other (Legal) Options – Golf has seen a couple of recent re-releases, being a part of Animal Crossing’s NES line-up for the Gamecube original and being featured as an e-Reader title.  Otherwise, it’s the NES cartridge route, but it’s not all that rare.

*insert Wario MK64 “struck by item” voice clip here*

Man, I’ve been neglecting poor LVLs. a lot lately.  I apologize.  I suppose I don’t have a ton to say, and my free time has been eaten up with my new games, or work (we have a sale this week, and it’s been quite hectic), or the LEC/HP Imagery, or just not having the time needed to get the initial legwork done on the blog’s feature posts I love to write.  My New Year’s Resolution is to focus better – I tend to let my mind and attention drift far too much, and a lot of the things I love to do get lost in the scattering.  So, as we roll into 2011, I will make up for the lack of posting tenfold, I hope.  I don’t know if I’ll have the time to create anything of note by January 1st, but I’ll work on getting the ball rolling ASAP.  Thanks for your understanding, and a Happy New Year to you all.

~ Wildcat

Music Wed…no, Thursday – Flogging Molly’s If I Ever Leave this World Alive

My mistake – I knew I forgot something yesterday. :p

I’ve come to love Flogging Molly more and more as I grow older, and this song is one of the few I can sing myself.  It’s also arguably my favorite.  They are a maelstrom of a band, the closest I can come to comparing to a hurricane of sonic force.  Their music captures the spirit of Ireland quite well, transcending their folk/punk label and becoming an experience.  A lovely band that delivers amazing music – this is a fine example of their work, although it’s a little more subdued than the majority of their songs.  Enjoy!

Romancing SaGa 4 a possibility

In an interview with Japanese gaming site 4Gamer.net, Square Enix’s Akitoshi Kawazu expresses interest in creating a Romancing SaGa 4 as a response to requests from fans. Although it’s not an official announcement or confirmation, he hopes that he gets the opportunity to begin work on the game in 2011.

Source: andriasang

The original Romancing SaGa trilogy appeared on the Super Famicom in Japan during the 1990′s, with a remake of the first game released on the PlayStation 2 in both Japan and North America in 2005. Other games in the SaGa series have appeared on various platforms including the original Game Boy, PlayStation and Nintendo DS.

Have you ever played a SaGa game? What did you think of it? Post a comment and let us know!

Excuses, excuses

Wherein I shirk professional responsibility yet again.

Retrospectives on Skies of Arcadia and CiNG

An odd pairing, but both came out today, so I guess other outlets are trying to get my attention! :p

Edge has a piece of Skies of Arcadia, while Computer & Video Games recaps the history of CiNG.  Enjoy!

Awesome Enemy Encounters – Sniper Wolf and Freezies

BOSS BATTLE GREATS – Sniper Wolf (Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes)

Sniper Wolf was quick to leave her mark in player’s minds – capping Meryl’s kneecaps and arms in a hideous display of gore, leaving her crippled and bleeding profusely.  After finding a weapon capable of combating the threat, Solid Snake is caught offguard and has no choice but to surrender himself, which led to one of the more intriguing conversations in the game with Wolf commenting that she would not think of anything else but him until she killed him…powerful words.  After escaping his imprisonment, he obtains Wolf’s handkerchief from Otacon (who loves her), which, if used, allows Snake to get past Wolf’s pack of (actual) wolves without having to subdue them.  The boss fight between Wolf and Snake takes place in a massive field laced with snow, rocks and trees, with the two trying to out-snipe each other.  Very tense stuff, and her final death throes were among the most poignant of the Foxhound mercs Snake had to engage.  Beyond Psycho Mantis and his bizarre mind games, I think Sniper Wolf was the greatest encounter in the game.  She had a fascinating design and made a definite mark on me as I played through Metal Gear Solid.  An all-time great, no question.

ENEMY LEGEND – Freezie/Slipice (Mario Bros.)

An odd choice (I’m becoming known for those), but as I was pondering what ice enemy I was most impressed by over my long gaming career, the Freezie kept crawling into my thoughts.  It’s a simple, yet game-changing foe, who serves as more a stage obstacle than an actual threat, but in a game where precise timing is a necessity, Freezie adds much to the overall experience.  He does what his name suggests – freezes the platform it’s on.  This makes Mario and Luigi’s traction take a nosedive, and timing your leaps to flip over other enemies is now that much harder to accomplish.  However, it’s not damning – the game is still winnable, and Freezie can also be hit from underneath to shatter it before it becomes a thorn in your side.  The novelty of having a piece of the stage suddenly turn to ice made a mark on my youth, I guess, as I seem to have fond memories of encountering this early enemy.  Go figure.

Impressions: Super Mario Galaxy 2, Kirby’s Epic Yarn, Little King’s Story (all Wii)

Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)
Pub/Dev: Nintendo
ESRB: E/Players: 1 – 2

I really liked the first Mario Galaxy, but after beating Bowser with a little over 60 stars, I found myself content enough to leave it at that.  The comet trials got a little obnoxious, and while the core game was a huge improvement over Sunshine (and was more refined than Mario 64), somehow or another I lost my interest.  Could have been the enormous hub that took too long to get anywhere, too.

Mario Galaxy 2 has taken major steps to remedy those problems.  The hub world is hugely reduced, and serves as a vehicle to move on a more traditional world map (more akin to the 2D Marios), which makes traveling between galaxies a snap.  More power-ups, expanding Luigi’s role earlier on and the addition of Yoshi has made a massive difference in keeping things fresh, and Nintendo did not relent on creative galaxies to explore this go-around – some primo stuff thus far.  Will I go the full distance with this one?  If the game continues delivering such awesome moments, it’s possible!

Kirby’s Epic Yarn (Wii)
Pub: Nintendo/Dev: Good Feel/HAL Labs
ESRB: E/Players: 1 – 2

Kirby’s latest is almost the polar opposite of Mario Galaxy 2 – a 2D game, one that strips out death and damage (although losing all your bends is a good sucker punch), and relies very heavily on its arts and crafts graphical gimmick for its level design and gameplay ideas.  The great news is that this is beyond charming – it’s infectiously cool.

These levels are outstanding – the early ones are a breeze, but the third and fourth kingdoms have stepped up their inventiveness and difficulty a lot.  It’s beautiful to stare at, and the music is exceptional.  Kirby losing his trademark inhaling powers is not a notable omission thanks to his transformations, which for the most part have been fun minigame diversions (the train sucks, though).  I’ve not been this taken in by a Kirby game since Super Star, and in this one case a change-up has been done right.  I hope it resumes its current path of enjoyment.

Little King’s Story (Wii)
Pub: XSEED/Dev: CiNG/Town Factory
ESRB: T/Players: 1

This I’ve spent the least time with, but initial impressions from a hour or so in have been great.  Combining a RPG job system with a Pikmin-esque combat engine was a brilliant stroke, and the day-to-day life of a king spent wandering the countryside, hunting treasure and pummeling adversaries has been a lot of fun.  I’m sure it’ll get more involved in time, but so far I’ve been very happy playing this.