hello, nintendo

Takeshi no Chousenjou

Mr. Tibbles of the Lady Upgrade Project pointed me to Takeshi no Chousenjou, or Takeshi's Challenge, the 1986 video game by one of my favorite directors "Beat" Takeshi Kitano.

I played the game a little bit using my GBA Movie Player. I don't think I unlocked the karaoke level in which you have to sing for an hour (not that the DS mic can emulate the old famicon mic), and I definitely didn't get to the boss that you have to punch 20,000 times to defeat, but I did enjoy the classic side scroller action and simple controls (jump and punch).

My understanding of the plot is limited by my lack of Japanese language comprehension, but I squished a lot of people. A man behind a desk kept offering me bundles of books that were either rewards or instructions (the dialogue was continually changing). If anyone who has an emulator and speaks Japanese, I'd welcome some pointers.

Nintendo #1 in 2004 Sales?

A few days ago, Nintendo Insider posted an editorial with a different way of looking at console sales, which happily-to-me puts Nintendo on top.

Now, I'm the first to admit that when it comes to specific numbers and industry conventions, I don't know squat.  I'm an aging gamer who sits at his desk and pontificates about toys and entertainment when he should be writing and testing corporate software, so I don't know how legit these numbers are, how much massaging has taken place or what, but Nintendo Insider claims that if you add up the numbers of consoles sold for all three major players (Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft) Nintendo continued to dominate the market due to Game Boy sales.

That's not too suprising really.  The handheld market is gigantic, and Nintendo's done a phenominal job of fending off competition thus far, and churns those bad boys out like crazy, and almost all other numbers that you see ignore the handheld market.

Like the Nintendo Insider article, I'm not really saying anything, just rambling about the numbers.  It's an interesting and possibly useful way to look at the market in a different light.

Reggie Speaks

1up has posted An interview with Reggie Fils-Aime

I'm kind of torn about Reggie.  I think he's good for Nintendo in that he seems far more open and up front than company representatives have been in the past, but I think if I were to meet him in person I'd want to punch him in the face after talking with him for two minutes.

It's an unfair assessment to make from a transcipt of a recorded conversation at a convention filled with hype machines gearing up for E3 in a few months, so maybe he's actually an earnest down-to-earth sort of fellow.

If nothing else, he needs to find a descriptor better than "kicks ass.

Game Boy: GBA Release Dates for 2005

Nintendo has posted their Game Boy release dates for 2005. March 21 is the big day for Wario Ware fans, when Wario Ware, Twisted! is released in the US. I'll be posting my review of the Japanese version soon.

Of note for Pokémon fans: How to catch Deoxys.

And if you've been sitting on the fence about getting a GameCube, then watch this space, since the Double Dash Gamecube bundle is coming out soon. Double Dash, a platinum Gamecube, and two controllers for $99 - an impossible bargain.

OMG, RTFM

A story about Super Mario Bros. 3.

I got my GameBoy Advance SP in January. I got Super Mario Advance 4 Super Mario Bros. 3 in February. I beat the game last week, thinking " Gosh, that was hard! How did kids beat this game back in the day?"

Chalking it up to my own suckiness at side-scrollers, I went on to the (excellent!) Mushroom Kingdom site to find a walkthrough so I could go back through all the levels and find the secrets I know I'd missed.

It was while reading this walkthrough that I discovered that players of Super Mario Bros. 3 have an inventory. Of powerups. Which, um, can come in handy during one's progress through the game. Upon making this discovery, I felt like this:

Thus: Be sure to read Nintendo's little user manual that comes with each game. It has some useful information.

Mawaru Made In Wario

Wario is coming to the DS, but that isn't stopping the greedy guy from pushing his microgames on the GBA a second time! The game pak includes a motion sensor designed to detect rotations. Be prepared to spin your GBA to win these microgames

Titled "Mawaru Made in Wario" in Japanese, the game translates to "Spinning WarioWare Inc." in English. Appropriate to the title, the new WarioWare game is reportedly played by turning, moving around, and tilting the handheld device itself. The attached sensor will pick up the GBA’s movement and relay it into the game. As such, the new WarioWare will make no use of the handheld's directional pad.

Planet Gamecube and Gamespot have these brief descriptions, but I really want to see the games. Nintendo Japan's teaser site has my head spinning, but doesn't offer any information I can decipher.

Raising Kids Right

Mike's got a great example of how his daughter has prioritzed her GameBoy in her life. It gives me faith in the next generation.

Worst of CNN

"The Legend of Zelda" introduces a young hero named Link who sets off on an adventure to save Princess Zelda from an evil warlock. Through combat, puzzle-solving and item collection, our determined protagonist wades through eight dungeons to solve the single-player quest. Crude graphics aside, "Zelda" translates well onto the Game Boy. (4.5 stars out of 5)

CNN reviews the "retro" SPs, out now but only gives Zelda 4.5/5 stars and Super Mario 4/5. What the heck deserves a 5, then?

GameBoy SP swap

Though Nintendo sells its own dual-tones now, a while ago I swapped half the housing from Lia's platinum GameBoy SP with the top from my onyx GameBoy. Here's the GameBoy Advance SP Swap photo album.

Classic Game Vote

Nintendo is conducting a survey. After supplying some simple demographic information (age and gender), select up to 15 classic NES games you want to see on the GBA.

I wish I could vote for Kid Icarus 15 times.