Archive for the ‘DS’ Category
18
Sep
Posted by vagrantesque in 3DS, DS, Gamecube, Games, Lists, N64, Wii, Wii U. Tagged: 10, 125th, 20, 30, anniversary, franchises, Games, nintendo, series, top, videogames. Leave a comment
20. Mario Party
Games: Mario Party (N64), Mario Party 2 (N64), Mario Party 3 (N64), Mario Party 4 (GCN), Mario Party 5 (GCN), Mario Party 6 (GCN), Mario Party Advance (GBA), Mario Party 7 (GCN), Mario Party 8 (Wii), Mario Party DS (DS), Mario Party 9 (Wii), Mario Party Island Tour (3DS)
Oh, the nostalgia. Words can’t adequately express the feelings that come with reminiscing about the days I spent playing the first two Mario Party games with my friends and siblings as a kid. It was like playing a themed board game where any outcome was possible, and whether that meant you got to come back from the brink of certain loss to win the day thanks to your secret ability to land on special spaces, or you got absolutely shafted by your sister’s coincidental run of extreme luck, the chaotic memories were burned into your brain. The minigame design of the early games was also tight enough to warrant playing them on their own, and while it’s true that the series suffered a drop in quality (not to mention originality) as it moved into the Gamecube era, the last couple of years have seen a couple of fresh ideas making their way back into proceedings. I’m cautiously optimistic about Mario Party’s Bowser-centric Wii U debut.
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15
Sep
Posted by vagrantesque in 3DS, DS, Gamecube, Games, Lists, N64, Wii, Wii U. Tagged: 10, 125th, 20, 30, anniversary, franchises, Games, nintendo, series, top, videogames. Leave a comment
25. Luigi’s Mansion
Games: Luigi’s Mansion (GCN), Luigi’s Mansion 2 (3DS)
It may be one of Nintendo’s lowest output franchises, boasting only two games in over a decade, but anyone who’s played a Luigi’s Mansion game can attest to the quality it offers. The first full-fledged solo outing for Mario’s slightly less famous younger brother, Luigi’s Mansion hit as a Gamecube launch title 12 years ago and, despite its relatively short length, managed to pack in plenty of atmospheric, slightly unsettling, puzzle-solving goodness. The game rewarded curiosity and exploration in unconventional ways, characterised Luigi in a hilarious new light and featured boss fights as clever as the environmental design around them. Though I regrettably haven’t played the 3DS’ Luigi’s Mansion 2 (known overseas as Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon), I have heard absolutely nothing but praise from everyone who has, and intend to give it a spin when I can find the time between other releases.
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12
Sep
Posted by vagrantesque in 3DS, DS, Gamecube, Games, Lists, N64, Wii, Wii U. Tagged: 10, 125th, 20, 30, anniversary, franchises, Games, nintendo, series, top, videogames. Leave a comment
30. F-Zero
Games: F-Zero (SNES), F-Zero X (N64), F-Zero: Maximum Velocity (GBA), F-Zero GX (GCN)
Here’s a controversial one to kick things off. I know there are plenty of vocal F-Zero fans who swear by the well-tuned arcade (read: insane) difficulty of the futuristic racing series, and said fans are positively foaming at the mouth for a new sequel. The last console entry in the franchise, F-Zero GX for the Gamecube, is now more than a decade old, so a new one is indeed long overdue. F-Zero’s ridiculous energy, intergalactic character roster and unique aesthetic do arguably set it apart from Nintendo’s higher-profile racing series, and Captain Falcon is an insanely popular character thanks to the Super Smash Bros series, so its a little baffling why it’s taking the Big N so long to get things going again. I’d buy a new F-Zero game, even though I would be terrible at it.
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10
Sep
Posted by vagrantesque in 3DS, DS, Gamecube, Games, Lists, N64, Wii, Wii U. Leave a comment
If you’re reading this out of curiosity, you may be shocked to see me counting down 30 Nintendo franchises. “Wait a minute,” you may ask. “Does Nintendo even have 30 videogame franchises?”
Well, my dear reader, I can tell you after a bit of research on my part that they have more than 60 of the things. Yeah, that YouTube comment didn’t know what it was talking about. But what constitutes a “franchise” and what are the eligible entries that won’t make it onto my personal list? Indeed, before I get onto the countdown proper, it’s worth answering these questions.
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7
Sep
Posted by vagrantesque in 3DS, DS, Gamecube, Games, Lists, N64, Wii, Wii U. Leave a comment
Nintendo. They’ve been around for as long as I’ve played videogames, and they’ve made videogames since before I was born. They are credited with saving the videogame industry from its catastrophic collapse in 1983 and they’ve been producing extraordinarily high-quality games ever since. They possess a wealth of first party development studios that are responsible for some of the most beloved franchises of all time. They are close to the hearts of millions and millions of gamers worldwide. And this month, Nintendo turns 125 years old (Don’t freak out – they weren’t always a videogame company).
To celebrate this momentous milestone, and in anticipation of the release of Super Smash Bros for 3DS on October 4th (itself a celebratory Nintendo party if ever there was one), I will be counting down my personal top 30 favourite Nintendo franchises over the next few weeks. It’s a difficult task to say the least but I’m very close to reaching a settled order, which will of course be my own personal opinion and nothing more.
I hope you enjoy, and long live Nintendo!
By the way, the image at the top of the page was taken from the lovely website TeePublic, where you can purchase it as a shirt from this page! Just saying.
3
Sep
Posted by vagrantesque in DS, Games. Tagged: DS, Game, hourglass, phantom, reputation, spirit, tracks, underrated, Zelda. Leave a comment
I can be such an idiot sometimes.
Kudos to Deviantart artist brumal.
So there’s this series of videogames called The Legend of Zelda– I dunno, maybe you’ve heard of it? It’s only one of the longest-running and highly respected franchises in gaming history. Anyway I consider myself a fan of the series. I haven’t played all sixteen of the games – far from it, actually – but it holds a special place in my heart as well as a number of my all-time favourite games. But, like any series, it has its “black sheep” – the one or two titles that allegedly don’t quite live up to its illustrious name.
Now depending on who you talk to, the identity of those black sheep can vary. It’s pretty universally acknowledged that The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is the biggest outlier in the series’ history, because it takes on much more of an RPG flavour than the other fifteen games and is presented with a side-on viewpoint. That’s more of a style thing, however, and beyond that personal opinions on quality dominate the discussion of so-called “unworthy” Zelda games.
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18
Dec
Posted by vagrantesque in DS, Games. Tagged: Black 2, DS, Pokemon, Review, Sequel, White 2. Leave a comment
The DS’ swansong is a real beauty and it’s a relief to get the review for it up on Vagrant Rant, at last. I’ve been playing the game when I can ever since its October 11 release.
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Platform: DS
Developer: Game Freak
Rating: G
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That thing’s power is honestly beyond ridiculous.
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674 hours, 18 minutes.
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According to the in-game timer, that’s how many hours I have spent playing the first Pokemon White Version. As a gamer, the Pokemon franchise is my World of Warcraft. It is my Team Fortress 2, my Counter-Strike, my Minecraft. It is that one series that grabs the addictive part of my personality and doesn’t let go. So understand that when I review a Pokemon game, my opinion is slanted a certain way. I will probably be more forgiving than a more casual fan on some aspects of the game’s design, but I will also be harsher on others.
Having said that, Pokemon White Version 2 is the best and most complete Pokemon game I have ever played. There you go.
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4
Jul
Posted by vagrantesque in DS, Games. Tagged: Conquest, DS, Pokemon, Review. 2 comments
Here’s the other game I was talking about in that June article. I’ve been playing this since it launched down under on the 21st, alongside Gravity Rush.
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Platform: DS
Developer: Tecmo Koei
Rating: G
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Just… I mean, where did this come from?
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Uh, what?
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That just might be your response to seeing Pokemon Conquest on store shelves, just as it was mine to finding out that it was getting a western release. The portable curiosity combines the money-printing worldwide popularity of the Pokemon series with the previously Japan-exclusive turn-based strategy franchise Nobunaga’s Ambition. The result of this unlikely marriage isn’t for everyone, but it represents a pretty bright future for crossover games of this kind.
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