Tag: Weirdness - Page 2
Weirdness This Has To Be The Most Underhanded Way Of Obtaining The N64's Rarest Fighter
The "old switcheroo"
ClayFighter is one of those series which can hardly be deemed classic, but the popularity of fighting games back in the '90s ensured that it sold pretty well, despite not being that much fun to play. However, by the time the N64 rolled around, the genre was on the wane and following the rather disappointing ClayFighter 63⅓,...
Weirdness Jackie Chan Backed A Motion-Controlled Fitness Console That Pre-Dated The Wii
Say hello to the XaviX Port!
The Wii was revolutionary in that it introduced the mainstream gaming market to motion controls and the concept of "keeping fit" through gameplay. However, it was by no means the first gaming platform to achieve this - in 2004, Japanese firm SSD Company Limited released the XaviX Port alongside a range of sports-focused...
Weirdness Minor League Baseball Team Is Making Its Players Wear Game Boy Jerseys
Knocking it out of the park
Minor league baseball team Frisco Roughriders has something of a habit of getting its players to wear unique shirts based on pop culture icons, and this year the team is harnessing the power of Gunpei Yokoi's finest creation, the Nintendo Game Boy. The Roughriders - who play at the amusingly-named Dr Pepper Ballpark -...
Weirdness Check Out These Ditto Inspired Pokémon Plushies
Has science gone too far?
For those of you that are unfamiliar with Pokémon, Ditto is a very popular Pokémon for, erm, breeding purposes. Essentially, Ditto is just a big, purple blob that's capable of assuming the form of any Pokémon it chooses, copying nearly everything about it. Of course – when Ditto is in its standard form – it's...
Weirdness You Can Now Play 3D NES Games In Your Web Browser
Wonders never cease
Next time you're bored at work you might want to try out this pretty incredible piece of programming which runs NES games via your browser in - wait for it - 3D. 3DNES only runs in Firefox and isn't operating at full speed at present, but as a technical feat it's pretty impressive. It takes original NES games and presents them...
Weirdness This Is Conker As You've Never Seen Him Before, And Won't Ever Want To Again
Say hello to "Young Conker"
Conker is one of Rare's most iconic characters, largely because he's a complete subversion of everything a cute, platforming mascot should be. Originally conceived as your typical fluffy hero, Conker only really found fame when Chris Seavor - he of Rusty Pup fame - took the character and turned him on his head, creating...
Weirdness Drew Barrymore Is Now Pokémon's Fashion Ambassador
"I like things that are colorful and happy"
Pokémon turns 20 this year as we all know, and no time is being wasted when it comes to exploiting this landmark event. Nintendo has just released the games that started it all on the 3DS eShop, and long-time merchandising partner Tomy is planning a year of special promotions. Later in the year
Weirdness This Super Mario Maker Level is a Functioning Calculator
Yep, it actually works
We've seen some terrific creations in Super Mario Maker, but few are as downright clever as a creation by Reddit user Helgefan. Shared on the social network this past weekend, it's rightly being hailed as an outrageous achievement in level design. Utilising binary additions and decimal conversion this stage, effectively,...
Weirdness 8-Year-Old Writes Nintendo A Letter Of Apology For Getting His 3DS Wet
A grim reminder to check your thermos cap
It's never too pleasant having to deal with customer service and sending something in to be repaired, but for one eight-year-old boy in Japan, the loss of his 3DS seems to have stirred up some surprising feelings of guilt instead of the usual impatience and annoyance. Imagine that! The young boy apparently...
Weirdness Watch an Actual Live Splatoon Squid Sisters Concert From Japan
Get your glow sticks in the air!
Splatoon is not only a fun game, but it's also succeeded in getting some of its characters and quirks into popular culture - well, Nintendo culture. The Squid Sisters are a part of this, with their bizarre voices, dancing and singing being part of the game's charm. In Japan, though, these things can go from being...
Weirdness Super Mario 64 Expert Collects a Star in 0.5 'A' Button Presses
"We need to talk about parallel universes..."
The recent Awesome Games Done Quick marathon served as a fantastic example of speedrunners demonstrating their practiced skill with impressive results. In the wake of its conclusion earlier this month, we've got just the video for anyone still needing their fix of game-breaking talent on display. While...
Weirdness Conceptual Artist Attempts Tetris World Record as a Metaphor of Capitalism
"Eventually they fall so fast that you can’t keep up and you die"
Conceptual and performance artists find meaning - or try to - in the unlikeliest of places, often taking mundane or obsessive aspects of life and applying an artistic different vision. One artist doing this is Rutherford Chang, who's based in New York and has previous works that...
Weirdness Homebrew Enthusiast Gets Windows 95 Working on the New Nintendo 3DS
Just... because
There's an enthusiastic homebrew scene around the 3DS, less interested in piracy and more fascinated with pushing the boundaries of the hardware. This often revolves around getting unexpected software - or operating systems - to work on the portable. One humorous recent example is from a certain shutterbug2000, who has managed to...
Weirdness Gamer Keeps Super Famicom On For 20 Years To Preserve Umihara Kawase Save Data
That's over 180,000 hours
Back in the days when cartridges used batteries to store save data, your precious save files would only remain in existence as long as the battery itself had juice - when the power ran out, the data was lost forever. Collectors of retro games will know this fact all too well; many RPGs from the '80s and '90s are now...
Weirdness Gaming's Most Infamous Bad Guys Have Formed The World's Most Awesome Band
With the help of Jake Kaufman, Jirard Khalil and Grant Kirkhope
It's said that the devil has the best tunes, and that certainly seems to be true with the Big Bad Bosses, a fictional band composed of gaming's most sinister baddies - all appearing under aliases to avoid any kind of copyright nastiness. There's Ronix (Dr Robotnik), G-Cash (Ganondorf),...
Weirdness North American Devil's Third Copies Sell for Silly Money on eBay Due to Stock Shortage
Now THAT's the greatest trick the devil ever pulled
Now, we didn't pull punches in our assessment of Devil's Third, awarding it 5/10 (average) in our review largely thanks to the ambitious online component, with the solo campaign faring less well. That said, we did try to consider some of its positives, and for benevolent gamers that can look past...
Weirdness A Dragon Punch Would Take Your Head Clean Off, Says Science
These Street Fighters are clearly quite tough
Street Fighter's Dragon Punch - or Shoryuken - is one of the most iconic moves in fighting game history. A rising uppercut which propels your opponent into the air, it's handy for dealing with mid-air attacks and knocking your rival off-balance, and in the right hands, is a deadly weapon which can turn...
Weirdness This Dad Is Better At Pulling Off Street Fighter II Victory Poses Than You
"Go home and be a family man!"
Following the delights of watching YouTuber Nick Luciano's dad reenact the taunt animations from Super Smash Bros for Wii U, we had to bring you his latest video where the game-for-a-laugh Father takes on the challenge of mimicking the victory poses from beloved Capcom brawler Street Fighter II' Turbo: Hyper Fighting...
Weirdness This 1983 Short Movie Combines Horror With Donkey Kong
Can you find the Treasure of the Haunted House?
Long-time readers of the site will be familiar with the work of Tyler Esposito - not only have we covered his excellent videos in the past, he's also contributed to Nintendo Life with an amusing look at one of the most bizarre NES games ever made. He also runs the excellent YouTube channel iretrogamer...
Weirdness GAME Gift Card Slip Up is Awkward, Though Not a Sign of Troubled Times
A portent of doom isn't required
Update: Eurogamer has shared an update on this stock situation, with GAME's press office seemingly denying it was an issue while staff sources have stated that stock is gradually becoming available again (from today) in stores around the country. Original Article: It's easy to hit the wrong button with damaging...
Weirdness French Far-Right Political Party Uses Little Mac Lookalike On Campaign Poster
"Hit the system with a good right!"
Nintendo is notoriously protective of its characters and franchises, and never allows them to be used outside of games unless the context is suitable - even using Mario on a mural took a lot of effort. Keeping this in mind, we wonder what the company makes of Little Mac's likeness being used in a campaign poster...
Weirdness Pokémon Meets The Sims In This Experimental Videogame Mash-Up
A funny concept
The recent release of Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer has proven there is more to the long-running series than just paying off loans to Tom Nook. By incorporating many ideas and game play elements from existing lifestyle and creation games, it makes you wonder what Nintendo’s other game series might look like if they received...
Weirdness Just Dance 2016 Will Include An Exclusive Song About Stepping On A Chihuahua
Boasting the vocal talents of Japanese singer Reni Mimura
Ubisoft has created a unique song for the forthcoming Just Dance 2016 and it's totally and utterly bonkers. Composed by the Just Dance team alongside Tom Salta and Japanese singer Reni Mimura, "Chiwawa" is all about a girl who steps on her Chihuahua by accident: Chiwawa is the surprising...
Weirdness Bowser Bummed by Skylanders amiibo Tie-in
GAME store has a cheeky time of it
Anatomically, Bowser's nose can be considered to have two primary purposes. First, it provides something to breathe through when he has a mouth full of hot, fiery death to spit. Second, its presence keeps him from looking like a total goober. Case in point, one GAME store seems to have come across a Hammer Slam...
Weirdness Japanese Company Wants To Bring NES Games To Smartphones Via A Tiny Cartridge
Small device plugs into into your headphone socket
Modern gaming is becoming increasingly focused on digital distribution, with publishers making use of online stores such as the Wii U and 3DS eShops to deliver games directly to consumers without having to produce physical media. With rumours that Nintendo's next console could abandon physical...
Weirdness Wii U Title Bombing Bastards Becomes 'Bombing Busters' on PS4, at Sony's Request
Oh Nintendo, you rebel without a cause
When we received a press release for Bombing Bastards coming to the Wii U eShop last year, our instinct was "good luck with that", assuming it'd undergo a name change before release. Nope, none of it, as it then launched on the eShop in July 2014. It was a further indication, among others, of Nintendo...
Weirdness You Can Get Apple, Sorry, 'Aple' Cover Plates for Your New Nintendo 3DS
Or Xbox 720, if you're feeling next-gen
Nintendo has released and licensed dozens of official cover plates - Kisekae in Japan - for the New Nintendo 3DS, but naturally there are some unofficial options out there. It's the wonder of 3D printing. Some funny examples have been spotted by @NintendoActu - and shared by Tiny Cartridge - which allow New...
Weirdness Bask in the Madness of The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes in This Japanese Marketing
Even Ganondorf would love this
Sometimes Nintendo's weirdness can brighten any sky and make the sun shine that bit brighter. OK, we're exaggerating a little, but it can make us smile - the concept of The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes fits into this. Any plot that puts fashion at its core in Hyrule is always going to be a bit bonkers, and its...
Weirdness That Slowpoke Reggae Video is Now in English
Took them long enough...
More than a year ago, the Japanese Pokémon YouTube channel uploaded a video so bizarre that you have to wonder if it's a preliminary experiment in mind control. It had Slowpoke and reggae in it, though, so we happily shared it. Surprisingly, the video has suddenly reappeared with an English dub. According to the...
Weirdness Grand Theft Auto And Pokémon Collide In This Rather Worrying Mash-Up
Gotta snatch 'em all
Pokémon and Grand Theft Auto V might not have much in common in terms of gameplay, but that hasn't stopped a dedicated fan from painstakingly recreating the intro of the former using the excellent Director Mode of the latter. You can watch the entire thing below, and we've included the side-by-side comparison so you can see...
Weirdness Blizzard's Heroes Of The Storm Features A Nintendo-Themed Easter Egg
Duck and cover
Blizzard's popular MOBA Heroes of the Storm recently got a substantial update which updated existing characters and introduced the Dialbo III's Monk, who naturally has his own menu screen to reside in outside of the game itself. It's in this menu screen that Blizzard has chosen to hide a special Duck Hunt Easter Egg. Spotted by...
Weirdness F-Zero-Style Recharge Strips Are Coming To UK Roads
YOU'VE GOT BOOST POWER
The battery life of electric cars could be increased by the use of special recharging strips on roads which use electromagnetic fields to transfer energy to the vehicle while it's in motion. UK-based Highways England is currently testing the technology and will soon begin an 18-month trial to ascertain the viability of the...
Weirdness Dancing Electric Rodents Infest The Japanese Coastal Town Of Yokohama
Pika-pi, Pikachu!!
Japan appears to be absolutely obsessed with the cute, cuddly and electric Pokémon, Pikachu. To celebrate the nation’s cultural obsession with the adorable pocket monster, for a second year in a row now, Nintendo has infested the coastal Japanese town of Yokohama with dancing Pikachu. These giant-sized Pikachu are actually a...
News McDonald's Happy Meal Boomerang Mario In UK Tabloid Scandal
"I was very concerned because it looked completely inappropriate"
We've been enjoying collecting the new range of Super Mario toys in McDonald's Happy Meals in the UK since the promotion started up again on the 12th August. We even tasked Nintendo Life's YouTube botherer Alex with doing an unboxing last week for you lovely people. Thankfully Alex's...
Weirdness Female UFC Champ Was A Huge Pokémon Fan, Doesn't Like Zelda: Majora's Mask All That Much
"I was constantly freaking out about the time"
Olympic medal-winning martial artist Ronda Rousey is one of the most famous female athletes on the face of the planet right now. She's the current (and first) UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion and has also forged out a successful acting career, having starred in the likes of Furious 7 and The...
Weirdness The Man Behind Busking Mario Is Now Racing Trains As Mega Man
Off the rails
Emlyn Lewis is an award-winning Irish filmmaker who just happens to have a deep love of retro gaming - Nintendo specfically. He's famous for busking in the guise of Super Mario and playing notable tunes from the series on his keyboard, but recently he's branched out into another beloved NES franchise: Capcom's Mega Man. Mega Man vs...
Weirdness Sonic the Hedgehog is All About Self-Effacing Humour on Twitter
An account that opts to laugh, rather than cry
It's not easy being Sonic the Hedgehog - hot stuff in his youth, he's now on an iffy run of releases that earn shoulder shrugs or ridicule. Sure, there have been definite highlights in the past decade, but attention often turns to the horrible failures; it doesn't help that the mascot's most recent...
Weirdness Get on Down and Dance, Dance, Dance With Pikachu
Step aside, left shark
Pokémon is weird; sure, it makes sense in some ways, but it's also conceptually bonkers. That doesn't harm its popularity, of course, and as a series with a heavy focus on attracting more children to buy into the brand its marketing - especially in Japan - can be delightful in its quirkiness. We think these Pikachu videos...
Weirdness Keep Your French Fries Toasty Hot With These Yo-Kai Watch Holsters
Only in Japan, of course
Yo-Kai Watch is massive in Japan, and that means there are plenty of opportunities for all kinds of cross-promotional activity. However, few ideas are as zany as these McDonald's French Fry holsters, which allow you to slot in your pack of chopped potatoes and keep them warm during your quests to locate naughty spirits...
Weirdness The Next Splatoon European Splatfest Wants You to Choose Between Vast, Icy Landscapes
That's cold, Nintendo...
Just recently Nintendo of America confirmed details around the next Splatfest in the region, with the choice being between roasting hot-dogs or marshmallows over a campfire. Obviously marshmallows is the answer, but in any case Nintendo of Europe has announced its own Splatfest for next weekend and it's... interesting...
Weirdness Coffee And Zelda Collide In This Mildly Disturbing Video
Hot coffee
Have you ever wanted to grind your own coffee at home? Well YouTuber Matt Lees probably isn't the guy to ask about it, despite the title of one of his latest videos. We don't want to spoil anything for you, so it might just be best to watch the video below for yourself and express your bewilderment in the comments section below. Yes,...
Weirdness The Previously Untold True Story Behind Rusty Pup Developer Gory Detail
(Disclaimer: May not actually be true)
Gory Detail is the studio founded by former Rare developers Christopher "Conker" Seavor and Shawn Pile, and the pair are currently hard at work on The Unlikely Legend of Rusty Pup, which is coming to both Wii U and 3DS. Those of you already familiar with Seavor's work will know he likes a good laugh - and the...
Weirdness Super Mario Bros. 3 is Rather Creepy With "The Plumber's Dream" Theory
The hills have eyes
Super Mario Bros. 3 is an undoubted classic, and one of the finest platformers of all time. At times bizarre, always great to play, it's a testament to what could be achieved on the 8-bit NES. Naturally it's an enduring topic for gamers of all types, and some like to really dive into the meaning of the colourful and bonkers...
Weirdness Here's What An All-Human Star Fox Team Looks Like
Don't worry, Slippy's here!
We've seen some cool cosplay ourselves recently, but nothing prepared us for the awesomeness of seeing the Star Fox team reimagined in human form. The cosplayers known as York In A Box have been busy barrel rolling ahead of the release of Star Fox Zero on Wii U. In the photos below you can see Chri
Weirdness Doting Dad Transforms Nursery Into The Ultimate Mario Kart 8 Tribute
Defying gravity
Reddit user troymcklure didn't want any old nursery when he created one for his newborn child. He decided that bog-standard teddies and pastel-shades were too mainstream, and decided instead to create a room themed entirely around Mario Kart 8 - and the most amazing thing is, this work follows his Zelda and Yoshi-themed
Weirdness Sega's Repackaged Transformers Arcade Game Is An Unexpected Nod To Its Glorious Past
Feeling the G-Force
Back when arcades really mattered, Sega was one of the industry's big hitters. The company not only produced amazing titles like Golden Axe and Alien Storm, but also ran a pretty amazing line in dedicated coin-op cabinets. Titles like After Burner, Space Harrier, Out Run and Thunderblade were all housed in massive, hulking units...
Weirdness Mario, Luigi and Wario Cheer On Tour de France Riders
Ooh la la
The Tour de France is well underway, and this great cycling event wouldn't be complete without some colourful characters to cheer on the riders. It's commonplace to see spectators such as El Diablo running on the roadside alongside their heroes, even if it is potentially quite dangerous and frowned upon by the event organisers. This year...
Weirdness Revenge is a Dish Best Sold on eBay, as This EarthBound Sale Shows
Ouch
Retro gaming, most notably collecting, can be an expensive business. Not all gamers are content with downloading whatever classics pop up in the Virtual Console, as there can be a desire to own the original cartridges and play them on their retro systems. Collections can be treasured, then, but based on an eBay sale can also be used as...
Weirdness Twitch Plays Metal Gear Solid: Ghost Babel, With Hilarious Results
Chaos, failed stealth and furious Metal Gear gamers
The Twitch Plays phenomenon has been around for over a year now, which makes it positively medieval by internet standards. The concept of hundreds of viewers issuing input commands is predictably chaotic, of course, and the concept can still be entertaining with the right game. We think this...
Weirdness Splatoon Has Been Impressively Recreated In Team Fortress 2
Modding madness
Splatoon has been a critical and commercial success for Nintendo, and has introduced an entire generation of players to the concept of an online, team-based shooter. In fact, it has turned so many heads that even PC gamers - the chaps who live and breathe this kind of game - are paying tribute in their own unique way. A team of...