You should try playing this running through Dolphin emulation at 4K inside VR in stereoscopic 3D on a giant virtual cinema screen via Bigscreen....
I honestly still think this is the best look for a 3D Mario game to date, with all the designs and stuff spot on, but also with a simple, clean, and soft shading to everything, with no real obvious shaders making things look more technically "showy" but also a bit strange, and just everything being as it should. It's a beautiful game, especially when you see it running in 4K and fully understand how great at job they did with the 3D assets and textures and stuff here.
PS. Now try playing Eternal Darkness on Dolphin and inside VR on Bigscreen too--and, yes, you can STILL see this in stereoscopic 3D using some of the settings in Dolphin and the display options in Bigscreen--it will blow you away.
Nintendo killing the Virtual Console, rather than transferring everything over to Switch and just expanding on that, was one of the worst decisions it's ever made imo.
Shame on you for not mentioning Dead Space: Extraction in the segment on Wii light gun games. It is easily one of the very best examples of the old arcade-style gun games on Wii:
Takaya Imamura should be doing all the art for a new F-Zero game imo, at least based on his sketches (which are far better than the final comic art, even with them obviously being done faster and not fully painted), including the in-game graphics (but just in 3D with as close to that same style as humanly possible). An F-Zero game rendered in the same comic style as the actual comic (except in 3D that's made to look like the comic art style) but with the level of artistry seen in Takaya Imamura's art would just be utterly stunning.
@twztid13 Eh, it wasn't me who said it took around 10 hours. I was just repeating what is in the actual review, except I do not think of that as a negative at all.
I wonder who would think a game like this "short" at 10 hours long, outside of people who kinda have no clue about these types of retro-inspired games?
Actually, yeah, there are quite a few "coincidental" similarities there: The hair style, mustache/beard, eye patch, skull on belt, exaggeratedly big chunky bullets, bionic arm, the necklace, the leather jacket with that particular style of collar, the red and black/grey costume theme, etc.
Edit: Ooops, I see they've already listed all that stuff. So, yeah . . .
I wish they'd actually went with the way he looks in the middle image of those concepts, the initial Rare sketch. I personally think it's more aesthetically appealing than what they actually went for, and better than Miyamoto's drawing too.
Just like art for Streets of Rage 4, but to a slightly lesser degree, NO!
Get some of the original artists on this kind of stuff because they are clearly leagues ahead of most modern game artists trying to do this more cartoon/illustration look. Those guys actually understood basic human anatomy and correct and/or pleasing proportions and so on. And the quality of the background art in most of those classic arcade games was on another level from what we got in SOR4 and indeed what we are seeing here too.
PS. I really don't like what they did with the art in SOR4.
It's Epic Yarn that's the best Kirby game imo, which is funny because I think the underlying concept would have actually made far more sense as a Yoshi game.
Yoshi's Epic Yarn is better alliteration
Yoshi uses his tongue to eat up enemies in a way that's nigh-on identical to how Kirby does it in Epic Yarn
The yarn art style really fits Yoshi's more kiddie style imo (the original had a crayon art style and Yoshi's Story already had a kinda felt/yarn look in some levels for example)
Kirby collects gems that are shown as a line along the top of the screen for each gem he collects. Yoshi collected fruit in Yoshi's Story that appeared as a line around the screen for each piece of fruit he collected.
Yoshi transforms into other objects and vehicles in Yoshi's Island in basically the exact same way Kirby does in Epic Yarn
Once Yoshi eats and enemy he poops it out and can throw it in pretty much the same way Kirby does in Epic Yarn
Seriously, it's a brilliant game but I think Kirby's Epic Yarn really should have been Yoshi's Epic Yarn.
In Japan at least it's like it was for Nintendo back in the '80s and '90s where it basically ruled the gaming landscape and completely dominated the competition.
Maybe could have made the analog sticks yellow to look like the buttons on his overalls though. I think that could have been a really neat finishing touch. But I'd have to see it in finished form just to be doubly sure.
@BirdBoy16 The way I read all that would still suggest the characters have to have been on Nintendo platforms in one way or another, in an actual proper game that they would likely star in and not as say a DLC skin in Minecraft for example.
If you run this game in 4K via a 3DS emulator then my opinion is you can see it's still arguably the best 3D representation/realization of the whole Mario universe to date that really captures the look and feel of the old 2D Mario games and promotional illustration art brilliantly:
Smash Bros is generally a celebration of both Nintendo first party games and characters alongside characters that have actually appeared in other third party titles released on Nintendo's consoles at some point, hence my point that Master Chief doesn't really seem to fit there--unless we're about to see a Halo game on Switch....
@JayJ Snake was properly on Nintendo platforms, many times, in actual full games, and even got exclusive versions of games on Nintendo platforms. Master Chief...
Why would/should Master Chief appear in Smash Bros. when he hasn't appeared in any games on Nintendo platforms other than in probably DLC or whatever? I think the point of Smash is celebrate all the characters from games on Nintendo platforms, be they first party or third party. I mean, don't get me wrong. I would like to see just for the heck of it, but it doesn't seen like he really belongs there to me.
@MS7000 AD revenue on the site, but not the games themselves. So, in shutting down the site for what may or may not be legit copyright grounds (the site itself didn't make any of these games of making money from them directly but simply hosted them and made its own money from advertising on the site, which is not the same thing at all imo), Nintendo has now also shut down hundreds of free fan-made games that may and probably do in fact have every right to exist under the law. Because it's not illegal to make a fan project that uses another companies assets when that project is not monetized in any way, and that does not include someone else somehow making money by using your free fan project in some.
I'd have to look into this more, but if these projects were fan-made and free, and the site itself wasn't making money in some way from them, then I think this would be a case of Nintendo totally abusing its position and power. Fans can make free projects based on stuff they love so long as they ain't selling it or profiting from it in some way; that is part of the law. So, like I said, I don't know the exact details of how this has played out, but it seems a bit dodgy to me. Maybe the problem here is the site and not the fan projects themselves, and if so then I'd really like this to be made clear in articles like this so people don't get the wrong idea about their rights when it comes to creating fan works.
Edit: I dunno ... This looks like Nintendo is slightly twisting the use of the law to make people think something is a particular way in law when it actually isn't and getting all these fan projects shut down when in reality only the site is potentially breaking any copyright laws (but may actually not be since it's not the site creating these games but simply hosting them). So, yeah, maybe the site should be held accountable or wherever, but not the fan creators and their free projects. The fan creators aren't doing anything wrong though from what I can see, and there should be somewhere they can present their creations for others to appreciate for what they are without always having to fear a corporate giant shutting them all down in a kinda sneaky indirect and insincere way like this.
Maybe someone in the know needs to look into some legal basis and protection for fans being able to show off their works on some site without that site's independent advertising for profit and the like be linked with the games themselves, which are absolutely not being sold or monetized in almost all cases as far as I can tell. Because, I don't care what you think, Nintendo does not have the legal right to and absolutely should not be shutting down any and all free fan creations that use some of its artwork and the like.
I already have a few of these improved games running on my SNES Classic Edition (Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts, Contra III, Gradius III, etc), and they are just sooo good with the slowdown fixed.
Nintendo really should implement this as an official optional feature in future versions of the SNES Classic Edition imo. And the developers of these games should also release them again on official SNES cartridges with the slowdown fixed too imo, maybe as some kind of collectors editions. I think enough collectors and core fans would buy them to more than justify the effort and cost involved in making this happen.
Also, imagine if Nintendo or some hacker could actually update the original Star Fox to run on modern TVs and have basically zero slowdown, run at 60 fps, be output in HD and with no obvious pop-in, much like M2 did with the recent re-release of Virtua Racing on Switch. Now that would just be utterly amazing as far as I'm concerned, and maybe finally show a whole of people once and for all that the underlying game there [with the tech-based and hardware limitation issues of the time fixed] is still in fact the best version of Star Fox in the series to date.
Good on the developer for standing up for their right to create something they like that isn't breaking any laws or whatever. and, whether the story above is actually all the facts or not, don't let the OTT PC cancel culture sheep tell you otherwise regarding creating what you like.
"Timesplitters was great, but it wasn't Bond. Perfect Dark, Rare's spiritual follow-up, was certainly impressive but it never worked for me on the same gut level. Intellectually, I appreciated everything it added, but much like Banjo-Tooie versus its predecessor, the game pushed the hardware to breaking point and felt a bit too ambitious for its own good. The multiplayer had so many more options--and bots!--but despite technical wizardry, GoldenEye felt trim and purposeful where Perfect Dark was bloated and broad. Years of navigating menus (ah, those filing sounds!) at lightning speeds meant I could set up a round of You Only Live Twice>Bunker>Power Weapons or Licence to Kill>Facility>Pistols faster than you could say Sight ON Auto-Aim OFF (always). I honestly can't remember playing PD's multiplayer more than a handful of times."
Super Mario World on SNES was the game that turned me into a hardcore Nintendo fan though, and the SNES remains my favourite Nintendo system to this day (even my [hacked] SNES Classic Edition has pretty much been the most fun I've had gaming this year).
@Susurrus The graph is dumb for not just going back right to the NES imo. Also, it says it covers 20 years, but it covers quite a bit more than that.
SNES is still my favourite Nintendo console of all time (and my [hacked] SNES Classic Edition is also my favourite console of modern times too--although I do love me some VR as well).
GC is probably my least favourite Nintendo console. It was a very by the numbers me too system for Nintendo imo, and I honestly thought most of the sequels in popular Nintendo franchises that appeared on it were better in their SNES and/or N64 iterations. Although it has a few standout games, with Eternal Darkness being a particular highlight for me.
All they need to do is change things ever so slightly and it would be fine from what I can see, which it seems they're doing now anyway so all is good. It could still be clearly Mario themed but without actually being proper Mario branding and stuff. And again, it seems that's what they're doing now anyway, so Nintendo doesn't have much to claim copyright infringement on at this point. They should be good. And people can still bring their own Mario costumes too if they like without breaking any laws, which would achieve the same effect while bypassing the copyright issue--because people are indeed allowed to wear the official Nintendo clothing and merchandise they've legally purchased from Nintendo where and whenever they like. That's about as much as they can do, a clear nod to Nintendo but no actual official Nintendo or Mario branding and logos and the like from the actual Street Kart company itself.
Edit: Don't know about any of the illegal street racing stuff that some people have mentioned though. I expect it's probably exaggerated to make Nintendo's case seem stronger, although maybe not, but I don't actually know one way or another on that stuff so won't comment further.
Edit 2: Actually, the website certainly says the carts are road safe and legal: "Our custom made go-karts are fully complied with local governing laws in Japan. Also company safety regulations exceeds the safety requirements by police officials therefore our street kart experience is not only exciting and fun but also very safe." - https://kart.st/en/tokyobay.html#about
@HamatoYoshi I think it's a lot better than you're giving it credit for considering it's a fan game made for a console that is no longer in production and running on specs that are so outdated and limited it's not even funny. What these guys have done here is beyond impressive imo. No fan-made game I've seen in the last X years has reached this level. And sure, it's not perfect, and it's overall not as good as Sega's own first party efforts--but those are first party games! So, yeah, its pretty dang impressive, and not just the game but the entire package, even including the likes of the box and instruction manual and so on. It's just special for what it is. Streets of Rage 4, however, is just another modern kinda Flash-looking--meaning it kinda looks like the half of the art was created in Flash (or some other vector package)--take on a classic that imo does nothing special, doesn't really match or surpass the original classics in so many key areas, and is okay but not what I think this franchise deserved and could have achieved in 2020. I think Streets of Rage 4 has only received the praise it has because standards for games like this really have lowered in recent times and also because most younger gamers these days really have no clue how far stuff like this could be taken if actually pushed properly and think that what we got is "impressive" and visually "lovely", which it's just not as far as I'm concerned.
Paprium--now that's a cool scrolling beat 'em up that actually looks true to the classic 16-bit titles like Streets of Rage 1/2. It's not perfect but at least it doesn't bug me on the face of it like this "Streets of Rage 4" game does. And yes, I played Streets of Rage 4, and I just wasn't feeling it. One is a fan game that actually looks and feels like something genuinely authentic to that era (because it basically is), and the other is an official first party release that looks like a slightly off fan game made with modern sensibilities but lacking a true understanding of what really made those seminal classics so great and so appealing and so timeless in the first place. No, I'm not saying Streets of Rage 4 was terrible--it was okay--but it's not the Streets of Rage follow up that I think the franchise deserved.
Comments 3,790
Re: Random: The Pokémon Company Forgot What A Magnemite Looked Like, And It's Really Sorry
Collectors are probably gonna be all over this messed up version now.
Re: #DRIVE Is A Gorgeous Endless-Driver Game Inspired By '80s Action Films
If it looked exactly like it does in the trailer, the bit that's behind the car--gorgeous--I would be sold. What it actually looks like though--nah.
Re: Video: Super Mario 3D Land Deserves to Be Remembered
You should try playing this running through Dolphin emulation at 4K inside VR in stereoscopic 3D on a giant virtual cinema screen via Bigscreen....
I honestly still think this is the best look for a 3D Mario game to date, with all the designs and stuff spot on, but also with a simple, clean, and soft shading to everything, with no real obvious shaders making things look more technically "showy" but also a bit strange, and just everything being as it should. It's a beautiful game, especially when you see it running in 4K and fully understand how great at job they did with the 3D assets and textures and stuff here.
PS. Now try playing Eternal Darkness on Dolphin and inside VR on Bigscreen too--and, yes, you can STILL see this in stereoscopic 3D using some of the settings in Dolphin and the display options in Bigscreen--it will blow you away.
Re: Video: 5 Special Wii U Virtual Console Games Not on Switch
Nintendo killing the Virtual Console, rather than transferring everything over to Switch and just expanding on that, was one of the worst decisions it's ever made imo.
Re: Video: 5 Special Wii U Virtual Console Games Not on Switch
Shame on you for not mentioning Dead Space: Extraction in the segment on Wii light gun games. It is easily one of the very best examples of the old arcade-style gun games on Wii:
Re: Video: 5 Special Wii U Virtual Console Games Not on Switch
Wow, that additional Mario Bros. 3 [Advance] stuff is very cool indeed.
Re: Here's Why The Cover To F-Zero Is So Special
Takaya Imamura should be doing all the art for a new F-Zero game imo, at least based on his sketches (which are far better than the final comic art, even with them obviously being done faster and not fully painted), including the in-game graphics (but just in 3D with as close to that same style as humanly possible). An F-Zero game rendered in the same comic style as the actual comic (except in 3D that's made to look like the comic art style) but with the level of artistry seen in Takaya Imamura's art would just be utterly stunning.
Re: Pixel FX's N64Digital Promises "Crystal-Clear HDMI Video" For Your Nintendo 64
Nintendo, where is that N64 Mini, ideally with a few colour choices, but hopefully at least the main different controller colours....
Re: Sega's Splitting Its Amusement And Video Game Divisions, Triggering Rumours That An Acquisition Is Afoot
@GVIL Whoever has the guts to do this, I think they have a potentially huuuge cash cow on their hands if handled right.
Re: The NES Is Getting A New Game That's All About Putting Out Fires
This actually looks cool.
Re: Review: Cyber Shadow - A Blisteringly Brilliant Action Platformer
@twztid13 Eh, it wasn't me who said it took around 10 hours. I was just repeating what is in the actual review, except I do not think of that as a negative at all.
Re: Random: Twitch Streamer Takes On Super Mario World Using Voice Commands Only
That's actually pretty cool.
Re: Poll: What's The Best 2D Mario Game?
It's Super Mario World or Super Mario Bros. 3 (All-Stars version ideally).
Re: What Exactly Is Going On With GameStop's Stock Prices?
This guy explained in a way that totally clarified everything for me and hit the nail right on the head: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EUbJcGoYQ4&ab_channel=LouisRossmann
Re: Review: Cyber Shadow - A Blisteringly Brilliant Action Platformer
I wonder who would think a game like this "short" at 10 hours long, outside of people who kinda have no clue about these types of retro-inspired games?
Re: Random: Someone's Made A Fully-Functioning Game Playable On The Game Boy Camera
Very cool what some people can do with a little bit of creativity and effort.
Re: It's A Real Shame This "Lemon Yellow" Game Boy Advance Was Never Released
@RupeeClock The yellow model here that did get released looks better anyway.
Re: The Man Behind The Ninja Gaiden Reboot Thinks Ryu Hayabusa Is Perfect For Smash Bros Ultimate
I certainly wouldn't complain.
Re: Feature: Cyber Shadow Dev On 8-Bit Classics And How We Can Thank Yacht Club For The Switch Launch
Game looks like it could be pretty dang awesome.
Re: Indie Studio NOWWA Accuses Apex Legends Of "Ripping Off" One Of Its Characters
Actually, yeah, there are quite a few "coincidental" similarities there: The hair style, mustache/beard, eye patch, skull on belt, exaggeratedly big chunky bullets, bionic arm, the necklace, the leather jacket with that particular style of collar, the red and black/grey costume theme, etc.
Edit: Ooops, I see they've already listed all that stuff. So, yeah . . .
Re: Video: 27 Years Later, Early Donkey Kong Country Concept Sketches Are Revealed To The World
I wish they'd actually went with the way he looks in the middle image of those concepts, the initial Rare sketch. I personally think it's more aesthetically appealing than what they actually went for, and better than Miyamoto's drawing too.
Re: Switch Ranked Greatest Handheld Of All Time By UK Newspaper The Guardian
I suppose that is arguably true.
Re: The Artists Behind Streets Of Rage 4 Show Off What Garou: Mark Of The Wolves 2 Could Look Like
Just like art for Streets of Rage 4, but to a slightly lesser degree, NO!
Get some of the original artists on this kind of stuff because they are clearly leagues ahead of most modern game artists trying to do this more cartoon/illustration look. Those guys actually understood basic human anatomy and correct and/or pleasing proportions and so on. And the quality of the background art in most of those classic arcade games was on another level from what we got in SOR4 and indeed what we are seeing here too.
PS. I really don't like what they did with the art in SOR4.
Re: Video: We "Opened" An Original Nintendo Game Boy From 1989
I feel like you just lost a lot of money on an easy sale, but I guess money can't buy the happiness of opening this thing new in 2021--except . . .
Re: "Special Edition" Gold Monster Hunter Rise amiibo Set Up For Grabs In 7-Eleven Japan Lottery
Feel sorry for all the amiibo collectors out there.
Re: Random: Forget Froggy Chair, It's All About Froggy Computer And Froggy Keyboard
Well that's just cool, imo.
Re: Poll: What's The Best Kirby Game?
@ancientlii Yeah, he doesn't really die in Yoshi's Island, unless he falls down a hole or something like that, as I recall.
Re: Poll: What's The Best Kirby Game?
It's Epic Yarn that's the best Kirby game imo, which is funny because I think the underlying concept would have actually made far more sense as a Yoshi game.
Yoshi's Epic Yarn is better alliteration
Yoshi uses his tongue to eat up enemies in a way that's nigh-on identical to how Kirby does it in Epic Yarn
The yarn art style really fits Yoshi's more kiddie style imo (the original had a crayon art style and Yoshi's Story already had a kinda felt/yarn look in some levels for example)
Kirby collects gems that are shown as a line along the top of the screen for each gem he collects. Yoshi collected fruit in Yoshi's Story that appeared as a line around the screen for each piece of fruit he collected.
Yoshi transforms into other objects and vehicles in Yoshi's Island in basically the exact same way Kirby does in Epic Yarn
Once Yoshi eats and enemy he poops it out and can throw it in pretty much the same way Kirby does in Epic Yarn
Seriously, it's a brilliant game but I think Kirby's Epic Yarn really should have been Yoshi's Epic Yarn.
Re: Nintendo Switch Took 87% Of Japan's Console Market in 2020
In Japan at least it's like it was for Nintendo back in the '80s and '90s where it basically ruled the gaming landscape and completely dominated the competition.
Re: Poll: Which Is Your Favourite Nintendo 64 Console Variant?
"Can you imagine a Nintendo 64 Classic Mini available in every one of these Funtastic colours?..."
I wish.
My girlfriend really wants this too.
Re: Poll: Which Is Your Favourite Nintendo 64 Console Variant?
The Watermelon Red is a genuine thing of beauty in real life. And the good old original black model is lovely too.
Re: Here's A Closer Look At Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night's Classic Mode Update
There's just something about this that looks far more right now to me.
Re: Nintendo Unveils Brand New 'Mario Red & Blue' Switch Console
Ooh, I like it! Very catchy.
Maybe could have made the analog sticks yellow to look like the buttons on his overalls though. I think that could have been a really neat finishing touch. But I'd have to see it in finished form just to be doubly sure.
Either way, it looks lovely jubly.
Re: Ex-Halo Composer 'Would Love' To Work With Nintendo If Master Chief Joins Smash Ultimate
@BirdBoy16 The way I read all that would still suggest the characters have to have been on Nintendo platforms in one way or another, in an actual proper game that they would likely star in and not as say a DLC skin in Minecraft for example.
Re: Feature: Remembering Super Mario 3D Land, 3D World’s Oft-Forgotten Predecessor
If you run this game in 4K via a 3DS emulator then my opinion is you can see it's still arguably the best 3D representation/realization of the whole Mario universe to date that really captures the look and feel of the old 2D Mario games and promotional illustration art brilliantly:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJmo9_YrGO0&t=122s&ab_channel=RiazorMC
And it really does look gorgeous and hold up stunningly well when output in HD.
Re: Ex-Halo Composer 'Would Love' To Work With Nintendo If Master Chief Joins Smash Ultimate
@BirdBoy16 I dunno. You tell me, since you're the person claiming as much. Find the quote and we'll see....
Re: Ex-Halo Composer 'Would Love' To Work With Nintendo If Master Chief Joins Smash Ultimate
@SpaceboyScreams Hey, Final Fantasy VII was once in development for Nintendo 64!
I kid--although it was: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5l0A3zzEgw&ab_channel=osukaa15sangatsu
And: https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/FINAL-FANTASY-VII-1438906.html
Smash Bros is generally a celebration of both Nintendo first party games and characters alongside characters that have actually appeared in other third party titles released on Nintendo's consoles at some point, hence my point that Master Chief doesn't really seem to fit there--unless we're about to see a Halo game on Switch....
Re: Ex-Halo Composer 'Would Love' To Work With Nintendo If Master Chief Joins Smash Ultimate
@JayJ Snake was properly on Nintendo platforms, many times, in actual full games, and even got exclusive versions of games on Nintendo platforms. Master Chief...
Re: Ex-Halo Composer 'Would Love' To Work With Nintendo If Master Chief Joins Smash Ultimate
Why would/should Master Chief appear in Smash Bros. when he hasn't appeared in any games on Nintendo platforms other than in probably DLC or whatever? I think the point of Smash is celebrate all the characters from games on Nintendo platforms, be they first party or third party. I mean, don't get me wrong. I would like to see just for the heck of it, but it doesn't seen like he really belongs there to me.
Re: Nintendo Issues Mass DMCA Takedown, 379 Fan-Made Games Forcibly Removed
@MS7000 AD revenue on the site, but not the games themselves. So, in shutting down the site for what may or may not be legit copyright grounds (the site itself didn't make any of these games of making money from them directly but simply hosted them and made its own money from advertising on the site, which is not the same thing at all imo), Nintendo has now also shut down hundreds of free fan-made games that may and probably do in fact have every right to exist under the law. Because it's not illegal to make a fan project that uses another companies assets when that project is not monetized in any way, and that does not include someone else somehow making money by using your free fan project in some.
Re: Nintendo Issues Mass DMCA Takedown, 379 Fan-Made Games Forcibly Removed
I'd have to look into this more, but if these projects were fan-made and free, and the site itself wasn't making money in some way from them, then I think this would be a case of Nintendo totally abusing its position and power. Fans can make free projects based on stuff they love so long as they ain't selling it or profiting from it in some way; that is part of the law. So, like I said, I don't know the exact details of how this has played out, but it seems a bit dodgy to me. Maybe the problem here is the site and not the fan projects themselves, and if so then I'd really like this to be made clear in articles like this so people don't get the wrong idea about their rights when it comes to creating fan works.
Edit: I dunno ... This looks like Nintendo is slightly twisting the use of the law to make people think something is a particular way in law when it actually isn't and getting all these fan projects shut down when in reality only the site is potentially breaking any copyright laws (but may actually not be since it's not the site creating these games but simply hosting them). So, yeah, maybe the site should be held accountable or wherever, but not the fan creators and their free projects. The fan creators aren't doing anything wrong though from what I can see, and there should be somewhere they can present their creations for others to appreciate for what they are without always having to fear a corporate giant shutting them all down in a kinda sneaky indirect and insincere way like this.
Maybe someone in the know needs to look into some legal basis and protection for fans being able to show off their works on some site without that site's independent advertising for profit and the like be linked with the games themselves, which are absolutely not being sold or monetized in almost all cases as far as I can tell. Because, I don't care what you think, Nintendo does not have the legal right to and absolutely should not be shutting down any and all free fan creations that use some of its artwork and the like.
Re: How One Man Is Fixing The SNES' Biggest Weakness
I already have a few of these improved games running on my SNES Classic Edition (Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts, Contra III, Gradius III, etc), and they are just sooo good with the slowdown fixed.
Nintendo really should implement this as an official optional feature in future versions of the SNES Classic Edition imo. And the developers of these games should also release them again on official SNES cartridges with the slowdown fixed too imo, maybe as some kind of collectors editions. I think enough collectors and core fans would buy them to more than justify the effort and cost involved in making this happen.
Also, imagine if Nintendo or some hacker could actually update the original Star Fox to run on modern TVs and have basically zero slowdown, run at 60 fps, be output in HD and with no obvious pop-in, much like M2 did with the recent re-release of Virtua Racing on Switch. Now that would just be utterly amazing as far as I'm concerned, and maybe finally show a whole of people once and for all that the underlying game there [with the tech-based and hardware limitation issues of the time fixed] is still in fact the best version of Star Fox in the series to date.
Re: Top Hat Studios Issues Statement Regarding Demands To Censor Sense - A Cyberpunk Ghost Story
Good on the developer for standing up for their right to create something they like that isn't breaking any laws or whatever. and, whether the story above is actually all the facts or not, don't let the OTT PC cancel culture sheep tell you otherwise regarding creating what you like.
Re: Best Of 2020: Mario And Zelda Were Great, But GoldenEye Really Switched Me On To Nintendo
"Timesplitters was great, but it wasn't Bond. Perfect Dark, Rare's spiritual follow-up, was certainly impressive but it never worked for me on the same gut level. Intellectually, I appreciated everything it added, but much like Banjo-Tooie versus its predecessor, the game pushed the hardware to breaking point and felt a bit too ambitious for its own good. The multiplayer had so many more options--and bots!--but despite technical wizardry, GoldenEye felt trim and purposeful where Perfect Dark was bloated and broad. Years of navigating menus (ah, those filing sounds!) at lightning speeds meant I could set up a round of You Only Live Twice>Bunker>Power Weapons or Licence to Kill>Facility>Pistols faster than you could say Sight ON Auto-Aim OFF (always). I honestly can't remember playing PD's multiplayer more than a handful of times."
That's about my thinking too.
Re: Best Of 2020: Mario And Zelda Were Great, But GoldenEye Really Switched Me On To Nintendo
GoldenEye 64 is a stone cold classic.
Super Mario World on SNES was the game that turned me into a hardcore Nintendo fan though, and the SNES remains my favourite Nintendo system to this day (even my [hacked] SNES Classic Edition has pretty much been the most fun I've had gaming this year).
Re: Best Of 2020: There's No Shame In Playing On Easy, Even If You're A Pro
I pretty much always play on easy. I like playing games and experiencing the journey rather than constantly dying in games.
Re: Take A Look At This Neat Visualisation Of Nintendo's Console Sales
@Susurrus The graph is dumb for not just going back right to the NES imo. Also, it says it covers 20 years, but it covers quite a bit more than that.
SNES is still my favourite Nintendo console of all time (and my [hacked] SNES Classic Edition is also my favourite console of modern times too--although I do love me some VR as well).
GC is probably my least favourite Nintendo console. It was a very by the numbers me too system for Nintendo imo, and I honestly thought most of the sequels in popular Nintendo franchises that appeared on it were better in their SNES and/or N64 iterations. Although it has a few standout games, with Eternal Darkness being a particular highlight for me.
Re: Tokyo's Unofficial Mario Kart Service Loses Supreme Court Appeal
All they need to do is change things ever so slightly and it would be fine from what I can see, which it seems they're doing now anyway so all is good. It could still be clearly Mario themed but without actually being proper Mario branding and stuff. And again, it seems that's what they're doing now anyway, so Nintendo doesn't have much to claim copyright infringement on at this point. They should be good. And people can still bring their own Mario costumes too if they like without breaking any laws, which would achieve the same effect while bypassing the copyright issue--because people are indeed allowed to wear the official Nintendo clothing and merchandise they've legally purchased from Nintendo where and whenever they like. That's about as much as they can do, a clear nod to Nintendo but no actual official Nintendo or Mario branding and logos and the like from the actual Street Kart company itself.
Edit: Don't know about any of the illegal street racing stuff that some people have mentioned though. I expect it's probably exaggerated to make Nintendo's case seem stronger, although maybe not, but I don't actually know one way or another on that stuff so won't comment further.
Edit 2: Actually, the website certainly says the carts are road safe and legal: "Our custom made go-karts are fully complied with local governing laws in Japan. Also company safety regulations exceeds the safety requirements by police officials therefore our street kart experience is not only exciting and fun but also very safe." - https://kart.st/en/tokyobay.html#about
Re: Best Of 2020: The Making Of Streets Of Rage 4, By The People Who Made It Happen
@HamatoYoshi I think it's a lot better than you're giving it credit for considering it's a fan game made for a console that is no longer in production and running on specs that are so outdated and limited it's not even funny. What these guys have done here is beyond impressive imo. No fan-made game I've seen in the last X years has reached this level. And sure, it's not perfect, and it's overall not as good as Sega's own first party efforts--but those are first party games! So, yeah, its pretty dang impressive, and not just the game but the entire package, even including the likes of the box and instruction manual and so on. It's just special for what it is. Streets of Rage 4, however, is just another modern kinda Flash-looking--meaning it kinda looks like the half of the art was created in Flash (or some other vector package)--take on a classic that imo does nothing special, doesn't really match or surpass the original classics in so many key areas, and is okay but not what I think this franchise deserved and could have achieved in 2020. I think Streets of Rage 4 has only received the praise it has because standards for games like this really have lowered in recent times and also because most younger gamers these days really have no clue how far stuff like this could be taken if actually pushed properly and think that what we got is "impressive" and visually "lovely", which it's just not as far as I'm concerned.
Re: Best Of 2020: The Making Of Streets Of Rage 4, By The People Who Made It Happen
Paprium--now that's a cool scrolling beat 'em up that actually looks true to the classic 16-bit titles like Streets of Rage 1/2. It's not perfect but at least it doesn't bug me on the face of it like this "Streets of Rage 4" game does. And yes, I played Streets of Rage 4, and I just wasn't feeling it. One is a fan game that actually looks and feels like something genuinely authentic to that era (because it basically is), and the other is an official first party release that looks like a slightly off fan game made with modern sensibilities but lacking a true understanding of what really made those seminal classics so great and so appealing and so timeless in the first place. No, I'm not saying Streets of Rage 4 was terrible--it was okay--but it's not the Streets of Rage follow up that I think the franchise deserved.