In Defense of: Wonder Trading (Pokémon X/Y)

The new Pokémon games are bloody fantastic, in my opinion the best since Gold/Silver. However, one of my personal favourite features is also one of the stupidest, silliest and easily-exploitable things in the game. I am, of course talking about the wonderful world of Wonder Trading.

For those who have yet to play it, Wonder Trade is when you put up a Pokémon up for trade and the game will find a random trainer to trade with you. You don't know what you're going to get until you get it. You can probably already see why this would potentially be terrible - there is nothing to stop people from putting in their level 2 scrubs in the hopes of getting something awesome. Most of the time they will get...a level 2 scrub right back (though I've found that I actually get a fairly small amount of low level Bunnelby's and the like).

Wonder Trade can, however, be exploited very easily - there's no limit on how much you can Wonder Trade and this means that if you get something you already have? You can immediately trade it away again in the hopes of something new. If you are patient enough, you will get something decent - or at the very least, something new you've not got yet. It's perfect for collectionists such as myself - but if you're looking for good, strong Pokémon, then perhaps it's not for you (saying that, I've got a few that were around level 50, so it can happen). Chances are you will end up with a fair amount of just hatched out of the egg, level 1 Pokémon, but even these can be beautiful sometimes - I've had a level 1 Bulbasaur and two Charmanders - the second of which I traded for a Froakie - but this isn't really a problem with the Exp Share, you can easily level up your critters without needing to stick them into battle.

The point is, Wonder Trade is a wonderful tool if you want to fill out your Pokédex. If you dislike the randomness of it all, there's always the GTS or even your own friend. It even gives you an insane amount of Poké Miles, which you can use to buy items from a man in the Poké Centre in South Lumiose City - which basically means it's a way to get almost unlimited Ultra Balls and certain other items. It breaks the game if used to it's fullest potential - and that's why I love it! Because it's completely ridiculous in every way possible, yet it's completely optional. It does, however, take away the satisfaction of catching your own Pokémon, especially if you get something from an area beyond where you are. Thus I'm going to stop myself from using it until the end-game and I'm ready to complete my Pokédex. So yeah, Wonder Trading is a completely broken thing, but with enough patience it can be YOUR completely broken thing.  

It's also weirdly funny to send random people Slowpoke's with supremely Scottish names. I wonder how Hamish is doing in Japan?

Serial Killer: Legend of Zelda #1 - THE Legend of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda. One of the greatest game franchises in history, it has sold nearly 70 million copies over the past 26 years. Many gamers have grown up playing Zelda games, including yours truly, but I do have one little issue with the series. I have never beaten a Zelda game. I usually get so far and then...stop. For no real reason. I figured it was time I did something about this. So, naturally, I decided to play the entire series; from the original Nintendo's Legend of Zelda to Skyward Sword for the Wii. I own just about every one of the main games, with the exception of the Oracle games and Spirit Tracks (which will be rectified by the end of this...). I'm either going to have a new found love for the series...or have an irrational fear of green tunics.

Well let's get to it then. It's time to go back in time, to the land of 8-bits, the Nintendo Entertainment System...

Despite owning this game twice (a physical NES copy and the free 3DS digital copy I got), I had only played this for a total of about ten minutes before starting this. So let's get right to it then...

Quick Note: As this game probably has the least to talk about, I've used this opportunity to explain more about the general idea of how the game works. Expect future updates to be less 'dry'.

Story

The story of the game is simple, Zelda has been imprisoned by 'The Prince of Darkness' Ganon. Ganon plans to use the Triforce, three powerful artifacts (Wisdom, Power and Courage), to rule the world with fear! Before being imprisoned, Zelda split her Triforce of Wisdom into eight pieces and scattered them across the land. It is up to Link to collect all the pieces in order to have enough power to defeat Ganon and save Hyrule once and for all. Our adventure starts when we meet an old man in a cave...

We grab his wooden sword (easy, now) and be on our way!

Gameplay

You spend most of your time exploring the 'overworld', travelling from dungeon to dungeon. The overworld is a 16x8 grid, it's not exactly small, but it's not dauntingly massive either. However there is much more to do than just travel. For instance, you can kill. There are so many enemies to kill and they like to drop goodies after you viciously murder them. This is a good way to collect Rupees, the games currency, early on as well as hearts for healing and bombs to blow stuff up. Bombs are infinitely useful, not only can they be used to blow up enemies, but they can be used to blow up some walls and uncover secrets. What's that? What is the secret? Now, it wouldn't be a secret if I told you what you can find. It is a secret for nobody!

Ugh, fine, or for everybody I guess. There are several hidden spots in certain maps where you can find this generous Moblin, who will share his Rupee stash. Sometimes it's not much, like shown, but there is at least one where he will give you 100, which is incredibly handy. The game hands you rupees like they're flyers, so don't be shy in spending. There are shops where you can buy a variety of items including bombs, a better shield, arrows (you just need to buy it once, and then each arrow automatically used a rupee) and later on, the blue ring (which changes the colour of your tunic somehow, and also halves the damage you take). You can also buy potions if you find the old man with the blue letter and show it to the old woman (that's their actual names...). Speaking of the Old Man...

He is everywhere in this game. He's in numerous caves, offering you advice, new swords, health upgrades (shown above. Always pick the heart...) and even a chance to play a little gambling game to get more rupees.

Sometimes you can find useful items that you need to progress the game with in the overworld, including the power bracelet (lets you push certain objects). However, most of your items come from the dungeons.

There are nine dungeons in the game, the first eight all contain a piece of the triforce while the ninth is where Ganon is. Each dungeon is a series of rooms, most of which have enemies to stab in the face. Sometimes you need to murder them all to progress, sometimes you need to find keys to unlock doors. There is the occasional room where the only way to unlock the staircase is by pushing a block out of the way, or into the right place. The puzzles never get any harder than that.

Most dungeons have an item to collect, usually quite useful ones such as the bow, the stepladder (to walk over one-square wide bodies of water) and the magic wand (like the bow + arrow, but doesn't cost rupees to use). Some are only useful around once in the game, like the whistle (used to beat one boss and to get to a dungeon).

Every dungeon map is in the shape of something; level 1 is in the shape of an eagle, level 2 is the moon, level 3 is a swastikahhhh...

I mean, err, it's a Manji. Yes that's what it is. See what you think it is? Forget that, it's not that. Besides, the boss of the dungeon is a 'Manhandla', not Hitler in a robot suit...though that'd be better...

Each dungeon ends in a boss. They usually range from really easy (this one takes two bombs to kill, a later boss takes one arrow to the eye) to kinda easy (the three headed dragon that shoots fireballs at you gave me a little trouble). Some bosses have a specific weakness, but there's usually an Old Man giving you a vague, badly translated hint on how to beat them. The Old Man shows up in the dungeons to give you some sweet tips like..

Cheers for the advice, Gramps. What he is TRYING to tell us is to bomb the wall to the left, but it just comes across as this vague nonsense.

But I digress, back to the bosses. Each one drops a Heart Container, granting Link an extra heart of health, while defeating them opens up the final room, where the triforce piece is.

Do this eight times and you will have the triforce of wisdom, which is the only way to get into the final dungeon and meet the final boss..

Ganon. He's a bit of a pain, but by this point if you have all the heart containers and the red ring (1/4 damage) it shouldn't be too hard. He'll turn invisible and shoot at you from different areas of the room. Just swing your sword at where he's shooting from and you can hit him. Hit him four times he will turn brown, then all it takes is a silver arrow to the face and he is dead and we've saved Zelda.

There is a Second Quest (same game, dungeon layout is different, enemies are harder etc), but that's simply for those looking for additional challenge. I have thirteen more games in this series to play, so I cannot delay.

Things I Like

It's still fun to explore and that chime that plays whenever you collect an item (as well as the one whenever you discover a secret, or the way forward) is satisfying even in 8-bit. The game can be challenging, but it is never unfair (unless there is a room of god damn Wizzrobes. I can only assume Satan himself programmed them into the game...) and it's not too long, you could complete it in just a few hours even on your first try. There's a reason few Zelda games stray from the same formula set up in this game, it worked then and it continues to work now.

Things I Don't Like

There's nothing wrong with the game per se, but it has definitely aged. Sequels took the formula of the game and made it better and in comparison the original does not hold up great. There's also around four music tracks in-game. This isn't a problem unless you're me who gets lost all the time. The main theme of Zelda maybe legendary, but even it gets grating when you're getting frustrated at being lost.

Conclusion

So, there can be no denying that the game is very dated now. Dated, but a whole load of fun none-the-less. It's best to look back at this game as the foundations in which the series built upon the legendary games of the future. It's a good thing, then, that they didn't do something stupid like make the sequel completely different, like a sidescroller RPG or whatever, you already know the punchline here:

Next Time: We adventure with Link as he gets lost inside a Castlevania game.

Super Amazing 50th Post Extravaganza - Super Mario 64 Finale

This is half a celebration, and half a message of defeat. For yes, I have managed to type out 50 pages worth of words, with pictures and videos for everyone to look at and admire. But at what cost, I ask you? The cost...of defeat. For I am waving the white flag. We can go home now, but will the nightmares end? Will the burning question of "What if?" ever fade away? I already know the answer to these questions...it's a bloody video game stop taking it so seriously, me. So, I've decided that there's no point in getting all 120 Stars in Super Mario 64, who cares. I should be happy enough, I got over a hundred and my save file will be there another day.

Honestly, the past month I just really having had the patience for Mario 64. It's a great game, don't get me wrong, but playing the later levels is more frustrating than anything else. I've never pretended to be the world's most skilled gamer and SM64 isn't the hardest game in the world, but I don't know the later levels and they do require some skill to totally complete. So whatever, it's time to end this and move on to Dark Forces before I hate Mario forever. So, for the very last time, let's look at the levels...

Tiny, Huge Island

Stars - 7/7

I like the idea of this level more than I like this level. In fact, it was my pursuit of getting all seven stars that made me decide it just wasn't worth it any more. The biggest problem with this level is that it is really easy to die if you make a slight mistake. On Tiny Island it is easy to slide off into oblivion, or be pushed there by a tiny Goomba. The actual stars were fine to get, but getting 100 coins was the most frustrating part as I just kept dying. The worst came at 99 coins and then being pushed by a tiny Goomba into a bottomless pit. I definitely had 99 problems after that, and they're all Tiny Goombas.

Tick, Tock Clock

Stars- 4/7

I'm on the fence about this level. Perhaps I should give it more time (har har) but if there's anything more frustrating than tiny Goombas, it's getting near the top of this level, missing a jump or getting forced off an obstacle and then falling to your death. I had a lot of experience falling in this level, though when everything was going well I was having fun until I got to the clock hands. Sure, you can make them go faster depending at what "time" you go into the level in, but having to wait for it to arrive is hardly what I call a good time. I missed out on three stars: the 100 coins, Stomp the Thwomp (never managed to actually reach it, must have kept going the wrong way) and "Timed Jumps on the Moving Bars", which I did reach once but then died somehow. Still, it's not a terrible level.

Rainbow Ride

Stars - errr...

No. Just no. I have nothing to write here, I tried to get the first star twice, didn't manage. That was a week ago at the time of writing and I've had no urge to play any more of this. Luckily, my main goal in any game is to merely beat it, and I have over thirty more stars then I need in order to finish this. So, I'm going to take a break from writing and come back when I've defeated Bowser once and for all*!

(*won't actually be 'once and for all')

Bowser in the Sky

I didn't do too badly on this, died twice because of a stupid fire-spitting ball, but other than that I got through it fine (though if I was actually going for the red coins, that might have been different). And of course, at the end of it all we've got...

Who knew Bowser and Mario were swingers?

The hardest Bowser boss of them all, which makes sense since it's the last one. You have to throw him into the bombs three times in order to win. At first I had problems trying to throw him into the bombs, I blamed the camera though once I realised they were placed in the shape of a star I could mentally map out where they all were, even when the camera barely gives you a clue. After the second time, Bowser will do something that causes most of the stage to fall, leaving behind a star-shaped platform. This makes it harder to evade his 'charge' attack, as well as his 'rain fire' attack. Honestly my tactic throughout the whole fight was to keep my distance, try to goad him into chasing me and then when he stops it gives you a chance to grab his tail. 

And finally...it is done. We've saved Princess Peach and her castle from the grasps of Bowser, and now we can finally enjoy that cake. And I can enjoy moving on to the next game: Star Wars: Dark Forces. Until then allow me to play you out...

Mario Kart Wii - Intro/Mushroom Cup

Mario Kart Wii

Well, enough excuses and experimenting, it's time to get back on track on whittling away my games backlog. Actually, when I say "enough experimenting", that's a complete lie as I'm kind of using Mario Kart Wii in order to test out my game capture device. You'll be seeing my exact playthroughs of each 100cc tournament (as long as I finish 1st overall). Once I have beaten each 100cc cup, I will consider that as 'beaten' and then move on. This is a secondary game after all, they're meant to be swept away as soon as possible.

Mario Kart is something I'm very familiar with, I've played just about all of them and the only ones I don't own are Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart 7. The latter will be fixed in time. I played 'Super Circuit' and 'DS' to death, but I don't have as much experience playing the console versions. This will be my excuse for any silly mistakes that are ahead. Although I bought Mario Kart Wii pretty much the day after buying a Wii, I've only played it once. 

So, here's how this will work, I will post a video of my playthrough of a tournament. Underneath it I will basically provide circuit-by-circuit commentary. I will show off a different character per tournament, so we'll see half of the cast of Mario Kart Wii as played by me. I'm playing with the Gamecube controller, half because I don't want to use the wheel and half because I don't want to use the wheel. Simple as that. So, let's go!

(note: all circuit images are taken from www.mariowiki.com)

Mushroom Cup

Video

Luigi Circuit

We open up the tournament with the Luigi Circuit, a simple enough course that will be the first one that many people who play this game will race on. There's not much to say about it, I never really had any problems with this stage at all. The biggest obstacle, and this is a common theme with any Mario Kart game, will be your opponent's power-ups. If you don't get hit by one in the whole race, it probably means you're in last place.

Position: 1st

Points: 15

Moo Moo Meadows

Now, stop if I'm wrong, but I don't think it's very safe to have cows wandering onto the track. Where is this incompetent farmer? But yes, most circuits have a gimmick, this one is cows. Try to avoid the McDonalds fodder or else you'll be in for a delay. They honestly aren't going to be a huge problem. What is a problem is a mixture of my own god-damn stupidity and that god-damn blue shell. For those who don't want to watch the video, basically towards the end of the third lap I noticed a blue shell heading my way. In slight hope of stopping someone before they could overtake, I launched a green shell behind me. It didn't work and when I recovered from the blue shell I was down to 3rd. And then my green shell came back and hit me. Luckily I managed to recover enough to get up to 2nd place.

Position: 2nd

Points: 27 (+12)

Mushroom Gorge

THIS. The gimmick to this one is the red mushrooms are bouncy. Now, skilled players (and by that I mean anyone whose ever played this game) shouldn't have much problem with them. But I'm not a skilled player. There's a section with a number of these in a row, if you don't hit the first one well enough you have a chance of falling into the abyss. Which is what I did. Three times. Coupled with being blasted by opponent's power-ups and well, let's just say I never finished very high up the course. Luckily my nearest rival on the scoreboard, Wario, finished dead last. If this was most other Mario Kart games, he'd be pretty much in the same position every time, so that's nice at least.

Position: 10th

Points: 29 (+2)

Toad's Factory

(Apologies to those who actually watched the video, I wasn't particularly in the mood to watch the track intro after the last race...)
Well, I do much better here at least. There are a few gimmicks in this track, being the finale for the tournament it would make sense for it to be the hardest one (though for me it wasn't because it didn't have bouncy mushrooms). There are conveyor belts that either help you go faster or slower, there are crushers that will crush you and also mud, which will slow you down unless you hit the boost pads. It's a really fun track and there is a lot of item boxes along the way.

Position: 1st

Points: 44 (+15)

Overall Position: 1st...somehow.

One cup down, seven more to go. The next update will have either the next two or three. See you then.

Characters - Mario

From this point on, any big series will have a little section to themselves. It will be filled with the various games I'll be playing, as well as a brief history of the major characters, from both the heroes and the villains. And who better to start with than...

Mario

First Appearance: Donkey Kong (1981)

Famous For: Super Mario Bros/World/64/Galaxy and many, many other games

Special Abilities: Jumping. Can gain many other powers with a variety of power-ups.

Biggest Enemy: Bowser

He's Super. He's Mario! He's SUPER MARIO! Easily the most recognisable character in video gaming history, he is Nintendo's mascot and has featured in so many games to list. While he made his gaming debut in 1981's 'Donkey Kong', it was in 1985 that he was thrust into gaming history with the release of "Super Mario Bros". And so over 25 years of saving the Princess from Bowser followed, and it doesn't look like it is stopping any time soon.

Mario is a man of many different other talents though. Although he's a plumber by trade, he is also an accomplished Tennis player, Soccer player, Golfer, Olympian, Doctor, Brawler, Kart Racer, Party Host, Demolition Man and many more. In fact, I'm pretty sure the only thing we don't see him do is actually plumb!

No matter what game he is in, he is always supported by a colourful cast of heroes and villains. It's very rare that you'll see him without either his brother, Luigi, or Yoshi, his trusty steed. Not only that it seems Princess Peach needs saving at least once a year and it's always up to Mario to save her from Bowser's evil grasps. Not only that, but Mario's evil counterpart, Wario, is never too far behind, though they've been known to work together in the past (especially if there is treasure for Wario to grab).

As I play more games in the series, these characters (and more) will be introduced in more detail.

Super Mario 64 - Progress Report 4

So, after a short break to recharge me batteries it's time for some more Super Mario 64!

Song of the Day

Snow Mountain - Koji Kondo

Progress Report IV

(all the level images taken from www.mariowiki.com)

Snowman's Land

Stars - 5/7

(Missing Stars: Star #6 - Into the Igloo, 100 Coins)

Snowman's Land marks a return to a snowy level, but this time with a gimmick. Usually if you go into water and pop out, all your health is restored (as your health doubles as your "oxygen"). However, the water here is so cold it hurts you even if you're above water. There's even one pond that acts the same as lava. Yet the only star I really seemed to struggle with was the first one. You see that snowman there? Well, try to cross that bridge and the snowman will get pissed at someone climbing all over him, and he'll try to blow you off. In order to pass him you'll have to take cover from a penguin. However, since penguins in this game are bastards, he doesn't just walk in a straight line. About halfway he'll start walking backwards for a bit, and if you're not ready for this you'll get blown off. Lovely.

I was planning to get the 100 coins star along with the last one, but I had no actual clue where the igloo was. However, I'll get these two during my "clean-up" once I finish the main game. I've come this far, I may as well aim for 120!

Wet-Dry World

Stars - 7/7

I definitely do not hate this level. In fact, I really liked it. No star really posed much of a problem for me (with the exception of "#2 Top O' the Town", I didn't realise that the height you jumped into the portrait changed the level of the water in the level). The elevator star also took a couple of attempts to get right, and it was slightly annoying going all the way back up. Plus it introduces an enemy that, while the game calls them "Heave-Ho", I can't help but see them as Max Payne.

Maybe I'm just going crazy though.

Tall, Tall Mountain

Stars - 3/7

I'm really not good at this level. I played it this morning, and I had hoped in getting at least five or six before I had to leave for work, but sadly I could only get three of them. It seems this level was designed with all of my gaming weaknesses in mind. I do have a terrible habit of panicking when jumping from platform to platform over a bottomless pit. Not so much in a "OH MY GOD, WHAT AM I GOING TO DO, NOOO!" kind of way, but I mean "Jump! Position myself! Jump! Jum, wait no position oh no I'm dead".

For that reason I made sure to get the red coin star first. And for some reason the log in this level gives me all the problems. There's a log you run across and it will move, however I seem only to be able to run straight off it. I'm probably just being stupid. Then there's the god damn monkey.

The second star requires you to go high up the mountain and catch a monkey. This legitimately took my ten minutes to do. I should really stop playing games at six in the morning when I've just woken up and I'm a bit cranky. You can't even corner the monkey since he'll just jump over you. And then I try to dive to catch him and I end up falling. Thankfully there's a pool at the bottom of the level that broke my fall, but that's little consolation when you've fallen all the way to the bottom of the mountain. When I finally caught him I almost did a little dance, but I did not since I was sitting down and it was too early in the morning.

What you are staring at right now is evil personified.

Then I fell off the log again on star 4 and I decided "screw this". I'll either get the other four stars with the next (last) update, or I'll just keep it for the clean-up.

Star Total - 89/120

So, the next report, hopefully up by Monday, will be the last regular one of the game. Three last levels; Tiny Huge Island, Tick Tock Clock and Rainbow Ride. Then one final battle with Bowser! See you then!

Super Mario 64 - Ports & Remakes

Have you never played Super Mario 64 before? Never owned a Nintendo 64? Or maybe you'd just like to play it again. Either way Nintendo have you covered.

Super Mario 64 is, of course, on Wii's Virtual Console, in fact it is the second most popular purchase (behind Super Mario Bros), which is impressive since N64 games cost a fair bit more than the rest of them, but the cost isn't too bad, 1000 'Wii Points' (I think that's between 8-10 pounds, but I can't be 100% sure).

Maybe you've played the original Super Mario 64 to death, collected 120 stars numerous times and are looking for something new. Yet again Nintendo are there to help. In 2004 Nintendo released 'Super Mario 64 DS'. It's basically an enhanced version of the original game, with newer graphics and more stars (while changing some of the more horrible stars from the original). Not only this you can now play with three other characters; Luigi (who can jump higher and thus is probably the best character), Wario (who can break certain blocks other characters cannot) and Yoshi...who's practically useless.

In Super Mario 64 DS there are 150 stars instead of 120. There is also a multiplayer mode available over 'Download Play'. The game was a commercial success, selling over six million copies and although the game was critically well received there was some criticisms. Although they felt the game did stay true to the original, the lack of analogue sticks on the DS meant that controlling was a problem. Another criticism at the time was the fact this was a launch title, and it was a little disappointing to have a remake launch Nintendo's new console. 

Comparison: DS (left) - N64 (Right)

Now, I haven't actually played this game either, I don't own it at all and I doubt I ever will. But it's another alternative for those who want it.

Super Mario 64 - Progress Report 3

Song of the Day

Dire, Dire Docks - Koji Kondo

Progress Report III

(all level images taken from www.mariowiki.com)

Lethal Lava Land

Stars - 7/7

My biggest problem in this stage is the Bullies. One Bully can be beaten no problem, you just have to push it over the edge into the lava. But there's a small section with two of them in this level and for some reason I lost a couple of lives trying to beat them (before finding out I didn't need to...they were the wrong group). The only other star I had any issue with was the last one inside the volcano. All you really have to do is ride two elevators, jump from pole to pole and then jump to the star. However I'm really bad at precision jumps and I always press the wrong button when trying to 'butt stomp'. I don't mind this level, but it's not one of my favourites either.

Shifting Sand Land

Stars - 7/7

I'm not a fan of this level. I don't like how half the ground is an instant death trap and I don't like how half the stars require the use of the wing cap. I don't like that stupid bird that steals my hat, I don't like shy guys, I don't like anything about this level. Inside the pyramid is a bit better since I can't instant die as easily, but getting the "Pyramid Puzzle" star wasn't exactly fun since I fell. Three times. I know I'm a bit crap at this game, but I've learned that if I do something wrong it's not actually my fault. So I'm blaming the Lakitu Bros for being terrible cameramen.

YOU'RRRRRRRRRRRE FIRRRRRRRRRRRRRED!

The past two levels I've had to really battle the camera to see what I need to do next, and during the "Pyramid Puzzle" star I basically had to take a leap of faith. Going into 'Mario cam' or First-Person doesn't help much, especially since I can't move with the latter on. Och well, at least they weren't water levels...oh crap...

 

Dire, Dire Docks

Stars - 7/7

See that whirlpool? In that room you're almost always being pulled into it. If you do it's instant death. For the first star you have to open four chests in order. The one closest to the whirlpool is the last one. Twice I managed to get that chest open (which isn't that easy since you're being pulled away from it) only to be sucked into the whirlpool, at which point the game pauses to tell you "hey, you won the star!" but by this point you can't collect it and you have to start over again.

Also, the third star "Pole Jumping For Red Coins" took me too long to complete...in fact I thought it was impossible. Because it was...you can't beat this star without first beating the second Bowser fight (which is unlocked from getting the first star "Board Bowser's Sub". Once you beat Bowser, the submarine goes away and the second room looks like this:

But I'm an idiot so I kept trying to long-jump to get all the red coins (I got four...) before giving up and looking it up. I felt stupid after that.

There's another trap in this room though. I thought it would take me to another part of the level but NO, it takes you to the moat. Outside the castle. You don't lose a life, but you have to do the whole level again. Dick move, Nintendo.

This level is terrible (I'm fighting with all my willpower to stop myself saying it's "dire"). It's boring, it's mostly underwater which is slow. The poles up there? They move slowly and it's just not fun. I liked the last star though, where you have to wear both the vanish cap and the metal cap at the same time. I like the idea of mixing different power-ups and I don't know many games that do that actually.

But it's not all bad...

Secret Stars

Bowser in the Fire Sea

Stars - 1/1

Collecting the red coins here is much easier than the first boss arena because you can't instant-die (just add water) here. In fact falling into the lava just gives you another chance to make certain jumps easier, and there are a couple of 'hearts' lying around (they heal you and are infinite). There's no really difficult coins either, just one that is kind of hidden by the geometry. 

Bowser has a couple of new tricks, he can teleport and stomp the the arena to cause you to fall, but he's still not difficult. Just keep running around him, eventually he'll stop keeping up with you to try and hit you with a fireball and from there just grab his tail and...

So long, King Bowser!

Star Total - 74/120

Basically I can skip the rest of the game and finish it now...but I've gotten 7/7 in all nine so far...why would I quit now?

Next: A look at the remake for the DS: Super Mario 64 DS!

Super Mario 64 - The Birth of 3D Platforming

Song of the Day

Inside the Castle Walls

The Birth of 3D Platforming

Since the early 80s, platform games has been the king genre of home video game consoles. The aim of the classic platformer is to get from A to B while jumping over obstacles such as enemies, gaps, barrels, spikes and various other traps. While there was plenty of platform games by the time the NES rolled around it would be a certain plumber in 1985 who created the blueprint of what a 2D platformer should be. It helped that 'Super Mario Bros.' was the biggest selling game of all time until recently (Wii Sports holds the record now-a-days, due to it being packed with every Wii...).

I'm sure just about all of you have seen this screen at least once...

SEGA would find success with their own 2D platforming mascot Sonic the Hedgehog. Both the Mario and Sonic franchises were the kings of their respective consoles, but it would be the transition into 3D that would truly see who the superior franchise was.

In 1996 Nintendo released Super Mario 64, a launch title for their new Nintendo 64. The game was a critical and commercial hit, it pretty much wrote the rulebook as to what 3D Platforming should be. However, it was not the first attempt at a 3D platformer. There was a few games in the 1980's that could be classed as a 3D platform game, but being the 80s, most were pseudo-3D at best. In 1990 a game was released for the Atari ST (though later ported to the Amiga). The game looks dated to hell 22 years later, but it can be considered the first 3D platformer game. I've never played it myself, but the way it's described you have a 3D field and you have to jump onto a platform which acts as a trampoline to allow you to jump to the next platform until you reach the level goal.

The levels were "abstract". You don't say...

It even has a few things that would be a common 3D Platform feature, such as a movable camera and the ability to move in any direction. Despite this, it is not particularly remembered as a game that influenced the genre. A game was released in 1995 called Jumping Flash. It is considered to be the gameplay continuation of another game called Geograph Seal, which was never released outside of Japan. Both games are a hybrid of a first person shooter and 3D platformer. It was released originally on the Playstation to some fantastic reviews, but it was soon to be completely overshadowed. It's another game I've never played, but it is available on the PSN under it's 'PSOne Classics' banner.

The precursor to Metroid Prime? (Image: MobyGames)

There was a few other games released during this time, 'Bug' for the SEGA Saturn was very similar to the classic platformer, but it did allow you to walk in all directions. "Fade to Black" was the sequel to "Flashback" and featured a fully 3D characters and environment. However, despite retaining some of it's platform-like features, it resembles a shooter more than anything as well as the inability to jump.

Nintendo, SEGA and new boys in the console war Sony were in a rush to get a 3D Platform game for their respective new consoles. After all platformers were still big money-makers in the gaming world.

Sony would put their trust into Naughty Dog, seen as a risky move at the time as they had just released 'Way of the Warrior" which was not a well received game at all. But, with the backing of Universal Interactive Studios, Naughty Dog's game would be 'Crash Bandicoot' and it would go on to sell over 6.8 million copies. 

We'll be seeing this fella soon enough...

SEGA had their own game in development for the Saturn. It was to be called 'Sonic Xtreme', developed by SEGA's American studio, STI. The game was eventually cancelled however, after much squabbling with the Japanese team. 'Sonic Xtreme' was to be a very different kettle of fish compared to previous Sonic platformers, however in the end the SEGA Saturn didn't even get a proper Sonic game. It wouldn't be until the Dreamcast, and 'Sonic Adventure' that we'd see the blue hedgehog in 3D.

This is apparently what it would have looked like...

Finally, with the release of the Nintendo 64, 'Super Mario 64' was released changing the entire game on 3D Platforming. It was not the first one, not even close, but it terms of lasting influence, it may as well have been. Carry on plumbin' Mario!