Mario Memories

Instead of popping in Skyword Sword I decided to start with Mario Galaxy. I was hooked. It was like I was instantly transported back to my childhood memories. I had not played Mario since 6 Golden Coins on the GameBoy, but this game was everything I had always imagined Mario's world to be. Seeing him in three dimensions for the first time was a mind blowing experience. He moved just as fluidly as I remembered but there were so many options now. The game is truly a masterpiece. The graphics are visually stunning as each new level creates a distinct and memorable area for Mario to explore. Returning to a stage is never a bore to collect the extra stars as their is usually some sort of twist to the level or added challenge that was not their the first time. From haunted houses to beaches, or snow covered mountains the variety never ends. Mario still has the same song and dance with Peach and Bowser, but it is on such a grand scale that I never would have expected. The new bumblebee power up is interesting as it allows you to fly without a running start. Music is orchestral and it always pleasant to hear the old 8-bit track remixed with the depth that a orchestra can provide. For pure fun you can not go wrong with this game it is a must play for sure for gamers of all ages and skill level

With the unfortunate closure of 1up.com I wanted to take a chance to expand on something that I had published on their site. Mario is the first game character I ever really grew attached to. Donkey Kong and the Smurfs were the first two games I ever remember playing on the Commodore 64. The Smurfs was a very repetitive game with the same level repeating and not providing much a challenge for myself, even as a toddler. Donkey Kong on the other hand I became addicted to. I found it very challenging as I was still very young and many skills required for games were still developing. I don't think I ever actually rescued Pauline and Mario was soon replaced by some other fascination, but that was only until I got my first NES. Super Mario Brothers was amazing there is not much I can say about that masterpiece that had not been said, but I loved it to say the least.

Something to keep in mind was that I was born in 1989 so I was playing all of the great games from the late 80's in the early 90's. The Super Nintendo had come out not to long after my family got our NES. Things were a lot different back then. Nintendo was marketing the NES SNES and Gameboy all at the same time. It wasn't like modern console launches were the old system is sent out to pasture. Being young during this time made it easy for my mother to trick me. I asked for Super Metroid and received Metroid, Link to the Past gave the Legend of Zelda. Mega Man 3 and 6 instead of 7. You get the picture. Asking for Super Mario World brought Super Mario Brother 2 and 3. I was so always so excited to get a new game, and I would imidietly set to work to discover any and all secrets that I could. Super Mario Brother 3 still ranks as one of my favorite games of all time (List to come in a future blog).

Something about the world of these games captured my imagination. The Mushroom Kingdom in particiular I would spend as much time imagining my own adventures for Mario and Friends as I did playing the actual game. I always saw that their was so much more to the world then what was stored in that cartridge. As I got older and realized that the no new Nintendo games would be played once they had been removed from Blockbuster. The N64 was on the horizon and how badly I wanted one, but my parents said I had to buy it myself that was a lot of money that I did not have. My brother said that we could pool our money to buy a new game system, but since he had more of the money he decided that we get a PlayStation. I never went back to Nintendo and that cheerful Italian plumber was left as a distant memory. My brother later moved away and bought a Wii. I was intrigued by the game play possiblites that the motion controls could provide. Intrigued by Skyword Sword innovation and the nostalgia for Nintendo characters I picked up a Wii bundled with Mario Kart and a copy of Skyword Sword and Mario Galaxy.

Pray for Japan but don't Forget to Play

Super Mario Brothers, Sonic the Hedgehog, Final Fantasy, The Legend of Zelda, Street Fighter, Mega Man, Wii Sports, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, Soul Calibur, Crazy Taxi, Castlevania, Devil May Cry, Silent Hill, Kirby, Pokemon, Gran Turismo, Contra Dead Rising, Kingdom Hearts, Ninja Gaiden,  Dragon Warrior, Pac-Mac, Tekken, Dead or Alive, Chrono Cross, Ridge Racer, Space Invaders and Metroid.

These are just a handful of the games that I could list off the top of my head. To really appriciate what Japan has done for video games, we need to look back to the video game crash of 1983. Shoddy ports of arcade games and an over-saturated console market led to the downfall of Atari, one of the leading home console manufacturer of the time. While this was happening a small Japanese playing card company, called Nintendo had been slowly venturing into the world of electronics. The company had released "Donkey Kong" just a few years prior, and "Mario Brothers" had just started to light up arcades.

Nintendo had tested the waters of the decaying industry with software in the arcades and hardware in the for of the "Game & Watch" series of handhelds that me with success. As The future looked grim for games on shore on the other side of the Pacific Nintendo released the Famicom which became an instant classic in Japan. The system was headed our way, but we wouldn't see it until October 18, 1985 almost two years after it was released in Japan.

No one would have ever guessed that a Italian plumber by the name of Mario would become more well known than Mickey Mouse by American children, but it happened. There was still some distrust from Americans when it came to Japanese products at this time, but at the time all we cared about were the games, and boy did we get games "The "Super Mario Brothers" trilogy alone sold over 68 million units worldwide other best sellers would include  "The Legend of Zelda" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" which was developed by Konami's Ultra Games label.

Nintendo fever had engulfed America and we were injected with our next dose in 1989 with the Game Boy which had the revolutionary idea of having interchangeable games. And then again in 1991 with the Super Nintendo. We got more of what we wanted and it looked and sounded better, or we could take it with us on the go. Business men could be seen pulling a game boy out of their briefcases and trying to get in a quick round of Tetris before meetings.

We were also given a choice from the Japanese Sega Corporation with the appealing Genesis that had it's fast hedgehog of a mascot, Sonic, and blast processing Sonic and Sega made the claim that they could do what Nintendont. These two Japanese companies now dominated an industry created by Americans. This trend would continue after a business deal between Nintendo and Sony turned sour Sony decided they wanted to get their own slice of the video game market and released the Playstation in 1994 and would create a brand that has become synonymous with video games. Other companies would try to compete, but no one still talks about the Atari Jaguar, Lynx, or Amiga CD32.

Without this series of events the video game industry may not exist as we know it today. I know some people prefer the X-Box these days and yes Microsoft is an American company. But without the foundation and the history of these Japanese company's Master Chief may not exist as  home console manufacturing was considered a failed business venture, and without Mario and Nintendo fever gripping the United States in the 80's and 90's gaming may have become a very niche hobby on the PC. Today console gaming is about 90% of the gaming market pie. I don't know about you but I do most of my gaming on PS3, and DS which I wouldn't have if it wasn't for Japan.

The recent Tohoku tsunami and earthquakes that have hit Japan have been tragedies with damage far exceeding with over twelve times as many casualties as Hurricane Katrina. And although we may not feel that this effects us as gamers, be glad that the 3DS was done and had already shipped Sony's NGP is looking like it will be delayed. So the next time you sit down to enjoy some games take a moment to think about where they came from.

There are many ways to donate to the Tsunami relief effort and I've provided the URL of an article that will link you to a variety of charities that are working on the relief effort. Japan you are in my prayers.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_newsroom/20110311/wl_yblog_newsroom/japan-earthquake-and-tsunami-how-to-help

A Well Aged Wine Tastes Better

I recently replayed Final Fantasy IX, which rekindled the love that I once had for the Final Fantasy which has been lacking in recent years. And the game still has the same charm that it had eleven years ago.

For those that are not familiar with the story it stars Zidane, a member of a Roguish theater troupe. Who is about to kidnap the princess of the Kingdom of Alexandria. The Princess is followed by her captain of the guard, Steiner and are joined by the Black Mage Vivi. Needless to say this clichéd group gets caught in over their heads and is swept up in a quest to save the world from the mysterious Kuja.

This game feels like a love letter to all of the the classic Final Fantasy Games. The Party returns to four members after having being reduced to three for the previous two games. The characters are all have distinct personalties and purposes in combat, with only Ekio and Dagger having the same role. For Almost the first two thirds of the game your party is dictated by the circumstances of the story. Abilities are learned from the equipment that the characters equip, but each character has their own unique skills and overlap only happens with passive abilities and earn AP and EXP after battles.

One thing I noticed while playing on my PS games on an HDTV the graphics are stretched and the character models are blurry when sitting my normal distance for gaming, this was easily fixed by sitting a bit further away. The backgrounds in this game are beautiful prerendered and the music fits the game perfectly.

This game would mark the end of an era at Square as it would be the last game with Hironobu Sakaguchi as the director and Nobou Uematsu as a solo composer. Time never stands still especially in gaming and we may never see another Final Fantasy in the Classic style again but we then again...

We're Talkin Classics