Despite today being infamous for being a prankster holiday, this isn't a prank post. Instead, I want to shed light to a niche gem of the Gamecube. Now, this is going off of memory with what I remember of it, as I don't own this game or the system anymore. The game I am going to speak of today is Chibi Robo.
Game: Chibi Robo!
Released: (In America) February 6th, 2006
Story: Welcome to the Sanderson family! As the newest addition, you play Chibi Robo, accompanied by a little television named Telly Vision (clever, eh?). As the newest addition, you are meant to be a little girl's birthday present, but your aid is much more valuable than simply being a plaything. You clean up around the house and do everything you can to keep the family happy, but there's only so much that you can do, being so tiny compared to everything else.
The Sandersons have other problems, though. The husband is unemployed and can't be bothered budgeting his money. This disturbs his wife, the stay-at-home mom, and the little girl, Jenny, is withdrawn and speaks only in ribbits for the most part. The parents fight and feud over the dwindling cash, which upsets the little girl, and apparently this was brought upon by something in their past. A hulking giant named Giga Robo dwells within their basement, its past tied directly to the woes of the parents. Then there's the toys around the house that seem to come to life at night.
Gameplay: You play as a tiny robot. On the scale of the characters, you are about as tall as a toothbrush. This isn't to say that your tasks are difficult due to your size. Think of them more as obstacles and challenges to overcome, as Chibi definitely doesn't let his miniature physique stop him from earning Happy Points and Moolah. Happy Points is a form of ranking for the Chibi-Robos, and the more he earns, the higher up on the leaderboards he can rise to. Moolah is spent on upgrades and extras.
Using the tools he can purchase as well as ones found throughout the house, you have to do your hardest to keep the place clean as well as help out the Sanderson household with their problems. Not only do you have the humans to deal with, there are also the toys that come alive at night and their difficulties that Chibi can help out with. Ultimately, you are trying to rise through the rankings and become the #1 Chibi-Robo, but you also have an obligation to assist the Sandersons with their family trouble and discover the history surrounding Giga-Robo, your predecessor.
The game tries to take cleaning into a different direction, almost like how Harvest Moon could end up making farming fun. To some degree, it succeeds, but not on a degree that can extend the game for too long. In the other example, it allows for extended play time well into the main goal of the game, but for this game, outside of wrapping up all of the stickers and reaching the maximum amount of Happy Points, there isn't much else you can do once you wrap up the story.
Sound: The music is definitely a burst of happiness that you would expect from the console it was on. The idle start screen, the menu, and even the introduction song is very up-beat and places you into a positive mindset. During the day, everything is shining and bright, a typical sunny day in a household with activity. When night descends onto the household, it still retains a positive beat despite the change in your surroundings. Then you have the fact that the characters, when speaking, make little boops and grunts similar to the Bebenese of Animal Crossing, rather than being fully voice-acted or making no sounds at all. It is through this you can get an idea of the pitch and tone of the characters, giving them a greater depth and expecting your imagination to fill in the gaps.
Additional: I knew that they were going to make a sequel to the game, but I didn't know much else about it. Apparently, there have been a few handheld sequels to the game, but not receiving as much public notice over here as it has over in Japan. Personally, I thought this game deserved a continuing sequel line on the consoles, but I can imagine the reasons they might have had for putting it on the Nintendo handhelds. The game could be rather short, and it might not have been as noticeable compared to the other Nintendo giants they have holding the consoles up. One of the games even has you play a Chibi-Robo involved with an adult version of Jenny, which I find to be quite a nice homage to where the series comes from.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Press Start: March 25th, 2015
Reminisce with me to a time when consoles were still quite young. Computer gaming was all the rage back then, outside of a few choice titles that started to warrant more of a glance towards the console market. The curtain rises on one game in particular, though at the time it was first released, I was much too young to even consider playing it. Thank the stars for retro gaming and all that jazz, right?
(A bit of a cautious read here as I try to change things around so I'm not entirely gushing or droning on.)
Game: Laura Bow: The Colonel's Bequest
Released: October 1989
General: Released around 1989, this is a text-input adventure game made by Sierra Entertainment. This was back in the time when pixelated characters were all the rage. Granted, this wasn't that bad back then, nor is it even now. If anything, the game seems to be in similar design to the early King's Quest games, only slightly better, if that makes any sense. By that, I mean the text input command bar is known from the King's Quest games (and I believe the early Leisure Suit Larry games), where you have to type out what you want Laura to do and be very specific about doing so. Take into consideration that some of the terminology we use freely nowadays wasn't as common back then, too.
Story: It's 1925 and the opening starts out at Tulane University. Laura, a college student, is invited to a dinner party by her friend Lillian. The dinner takes place on the Dijon estate out in the bayou, and what starts off as a tense dinner easily leads on to one of the most dangerous nights that Laura has ever had to experience. The only question on her mind is if she'll even survive the night! The pile of bodies begin to narrow down her chances. What seemed like a simple dispute at the dinner table starts having people drop like flies, their corpses littering the estate grounds for brief moments before they mysteriously disappear. Who is the murderer? What is the motive for the deaths? Will Laura make it? That is up for you to help figure out. The game starts out like a play, introducing all of the characters like actors, and the game is separated into several "Acts", where specific conversations and incidents occur only during this time.
Gameplay: As described above, you play this game as a text-input adventure. Any commands such as interrogating suspects and checking out suspicious items of interest involve typing it in. While you can easily move Laura around with the arrows, it does get rather clunky as some things aren't directly flat. Even the stairs separating the first and second floors are slightly diagonal, meaning you have to go back and forth. The majority of the estate, including the manor and the outlying features, are up for exploration, and many of the keys and clues you will need to discover the entire story behind this game can be hidden in the simplest of forms. Thankfully, when it comes down to a time crunch, the text input field does pause the action, so you can make sure you type out what is needed when the time comes (and there will be one time in particular where this helps).
Meanwhile, the inventory system known from such action games doesn't necessarily prove to be too helpful outside of actually allowing you to keep stock of what you've collected. To look at the items, you have to leave that screen and put in your command, but you are at least given a visual key if you look at it in the inventory screen.
Sound: Take into account when this game was made. If you ever played the original King's Quest games (1 through 4 would work), you will know that the music was very... bit-ish. By that, I mean they were very basic beeps and bloops that the computer itself was capable of making (without speakers). For this reason, there wasn't actually much that involved, such as music for parts of the house. There was ambient beeps and bips that came from like frogs or thunder when outside, and the suspenseful shock ditty that came up when you found a corpse, but there really wasn't much of note.
Additional: While the estate may not seem too spacious, there is definitely enough to discover that you may not uncover it all throughout a single play through, especially if it is a blind run. The characters are colorful enough to stand out from the sparse interaction truly needed to get through the game, and if you dig deep enough, you can see that Roberta Williams (the creative mind behind this game) did an excellent job for this game's time. After all, it did end up getting a sequel game attached to the title line (Dagger of Amon Ra, will write on that at a later date). The Dijon estate holds many secrets, and with those secrets, more will only become available. Couple this with the piracy protection for the time and you have yourself an interesting game.
* A note about the piracy protection: This game came packaged with a notebook similar to the one that Laura ends up using for her own information, but this was a game manual like any other game's pre-packaged material. One thing to note was that it had the fingerprints of all of the characters involved in the play, and the first thing you come across when starting the game is an identification key. It will show you a fingerprint and it is your job to say who it belonged to by choosing from the choices. Failure to do so would close the game, but there was a work-around for this that they probably didn't take into account.
(A bit of a cautious read here as I try to change things around so I'm not entirely gushing or droning on.)
Game: Laura Bow: The Colonel's Bequest
Released: October 1989
General: Released around 1989, this is a text-input adventure game made by Sierra Entertainment. This was back in the time when pixelated characters were all the rage. Granted, this wasn't that bad back then, nor is it even now. If anything, the game seems to be in similar design to the early King's Quest games, only slightly better, if that makes any sense. By that, I mean the text input command bar is known from the King's Quest games (and I believe the early Leisure Suit Larry games), where you have to type out what you want Laura to do and be very specific about doing so. Take into consideration that some of the terminology we use freely nowadays wasn't as common back then, too.
Story: It's 1925 and the opening starts out at Tulane University. Laura, a college student, is invited to a dinner party by her friend Lillian. The dinner takes place on the Dijon estate out in the bayou, and what starts off as a tense dinner easily leads on to one of the most dangerous nights that Laura has ever had to experience. The only question on her mind is if she'll even survive the night! The pile of bodies begin to narrow down her chances. What seemed like a simple dispute at the dinner table starts having people drop like flies, their corpses littering the estate grounds for brief moments before they mysteriously disappear. Who is the murderer? What is the motive for the deaths? Will Laura make it? That is up for you to help figure out. The game starts out like a play, introducing all of the characters like actors, and the game is separated into several "Acts", where specific conversations and incidents occur only during this time.
Gameplay: As described above, you play this game as a text-input adventure. Any commands such as interrogating suspects and checking out suspicious items of interest involve typing it in. While you can easily move Laura around with the arrows, it does get rather clunky as some things aren't directly flat. Even the stairs separating the first and second floors are slightly diagonal, meaning you have to go back and forth. The majority of the estate, including the manor and the outlying features, are up for exploration, and many of the keys and clues you will need to discover the entire story behind this game can be hidden in the simplest of forms. Thankfully, when it comes down to a time crunch, the text input field does pause the action, so you can make sure you type out what is needed when the time comes (and there will be one time in particular where this helps).
Meanwhile, the inventory system known from such action games doesn't necessarily prove to be too helpful outside of actually allowing you to keep stock of what you've collected. To look at the items, you have to leave that screen and put in your command, but you are at least given a visual key if you look at it in the inventory screen.
Sound: Take into account when this game was made. If you ever played the original King's Quest games (1 through 4 would work), you will know that the music was very... bit-ish. By that, I mean they were very basic beeps and bloops that the computer itself was capable of making (without speakers). For this reason, there wasn't actually much that involved, such as music for parts of the house. There was ambient beeps and bips that came from like frogs or thunder when outside, and the suspenseful shock ditty that came up when you found a corpse, but there really wasn't much of note.
Additional: While the estate may not seem too spacious, there is definitely enough to discover that you may not uncover it all throughout a single play through, especially if it is a blind run. The characters are colorful enough to stand out from the sparse interaction truly needed to get through the game, and if you dig deep enough, you can see that Roberta Williams (the creative mind behind this game) did an excellent job for this game's time. After all, it did end up getting a sequel game attached to the title line (Dagger of Amon Ra, will write on that at a later date). The Dijon estate holds many secrets, and with those secrets, more will only become available. Couple this with the piracy protection for the time and you have yourself an interesting game.
* A note about the piracy protection: This game came packaged with a notebook similar to the one that Laura ends up using for her own information, but this was a game manual like any other game's pre-packaged material. One thing to note was that it had the fingerprints of all of the characters involved in the play, and the first thing you come across when starting the game is an identification key. It will show you a fingerprint and it is your job to say who it belonged to by choosing from the choices. Failure to do so would close the game, but there was a work-around for this that they probably didn't take into account.
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Press Start: March 18th, 2015
Time to liven it up. What would you say to being elected to the position of Vice President of the World? Sound like your cup of tea, or in this case, a strong cup of Moonbucks coffee? Yeah, you read it right. I'm talking about Citizens of Earth, playing the PS Vita version.
Game: Citizens of Earth (PS Vita)
Released: January 20th, 2015
While I mention the PS Vita version right off, this game has seen ports to several different gaming mediums such as Nintendo devices (Wii U, 3DS), Sony devices (PS4 and PS Vita) and even a release on Steam (PC). This is quite a coverage for I could claim is definitely quite a massive game contained within the classic formula of 90s RPGs. Think back to a time when the SNES was popular and we had games such as Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, and other titles that made RPGs famous back then. Citizens of Earth takes the likeness and similar battle mechanics of Earthbound along with the large recruitment pool the likes of Radiata Stories (for the PS2), and you've pretty much summed up the surface of this game. Tying that in with a crazy story, light voice-acting, and several different areas to run, swim, and drive through, and that would be just enough to help in painting the portrait in your head.
You play as the recently elected VP of the World. That alone is quite a boastful title, and you awaken in your childhood room from the familiar voice of your mother. What starts from here is a crazy adventure that deals with caffeinated fiends, crazy hippies, sugar-doped scouts, and not-so-secret agents. With 40 different characters that you can switch out and make into your party of three combatants, you are off on an adventure that you have only imagined! The amusing part is that almost any unique person you come across as a citizen is recruitable, from your own mother and brother to the secretary to the President, a psychologist, the conspiracy nut, the baker, photographer, lifeguard, and that's just the tip of the forty characters you can recruit. Some of their conditions can range from the simplest of tasks that could be completed right then and there (like a mini-game or quiz) to having to go to the ends of the earth to do their tasks.
There is plenty to do in the game outside of the actual storyline. With such an expansive world that slowly opens up both due to the story progression as well as utilizing your citizens, it would be difficult to run out of places to explore. And there is no shortage of enemies. Anything from an animated coffee bean, a gassy frog, a pile of leaves, or even a car may end up chasing after you ready for a fight. It really brings back a nostalgic factor for those who grew up with the early console RPGs, and for those who didn't grow up with them will still find plenty to run around and whack a few times on their quest to save the world!
The price isn't too extravagant, and though the music isn't as creative as I would prefer in something like this, there's definitely something about the simplicity of this game that makes it all the more playable. Recruit the citizens of the planet to combat against the forces at work in your new position!
Game: Citizens of Earth (PS Vita)
Released: January 20th, 2015
While I mention the PS Vita version right off, this game has seen ports to several different gaming mediums such as Nintendo devices (Wii U, 3DS), Sony devices (PS4 and PS Vita) and even a release on Steam (PC). This is quite a coverage for I could claim is definitely quite a massive game contained within the classic formula of 90s RPGs. Think back to a time when the SNES was popular and we had games such as Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, and other titles that made RPGs famous back then. Citizens of Earth takes the likeness and similar battle mechanics of Earthbound along with the large recruitment pool the likes of Radiata Stories (for the PS2), and you've pretty much summed up the surface of this game. Tying that in with a crazy story, light voice-acting, and several different areas to run, swim, and drive through, and that would be just enough to help in painting the portrait in your head.
You play as the recently elected VP of the World. That alone is quite a boastful title, and you awaken in your childhood room from the familiar voice of your mother. What starts from here is a crazy adventure that deals with caffeinated fiends, crazy hippies, sugar-doped scouts, and not-so-secret agents. With 40 different characters that you can switch out and make into your party of three combatants, you are off on an adventure that you have only imagined! The amusing part is that almost any unique person you come across as a citizen is recruitable, from your own mother and brother to the secretary to the President, a psychologist, the conspiracy nut, the baker, photographer, lifeguard, and that's just the tip of the forty characters you can recruit. Some of their conditions can range from the simplest of tasks that could be completed right then and there (like a mini-game or quiz) to having to go to the ends of the earth to do their tasks.
There is plenty to do in the game outside of the actual storyline. With such an expansive world that slowly opens up both due to the story progression as well as utilizing your citizens, it would be difficult to run out of places to explore. And there is no shortage of enemies. Anything from an animated coffee bean, a gassy frog, a pile of leaves, or even a car may end up chasing after you ready for a fight. It really brings back a nostalgic factor for those who grew up with the early console RPGs, and for those who didn't grow up with them will still find plenty to run around and whack a few times on their quest to save the world!
The price isn't too extravagant, and though the music isn't as creative as I would prefer in something like this, there's definitely something about the simplicity of this game that makes it all the more playable. Recruit the citizens of the planet to combat against the forces at work in your new position!
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Press Start: March 11th, 2015
Well, given as it is Spring Break for me, my schedule's a bit thrown off. However, I did have something I had previously written up, so I do apologize for this. It still works for what I need it for, so it works well enough.
Game: Mixed-Up Mother Goose
Released: 1987
It was re-released on a CD some years later, with a graphical update as well as better sound. Along with this, the nursery rhyme characters came with voices for each. To add to that, when the nursery rhymes were completed, there would be a song for each, telling the nursery rhyme in a way that most children would generally remember, rather than merely speaking the lines out. I had once acquired the CD version of this game with a CD package called King's Quest Collection, and I have fond memories of some of the nursery rhyme songs.
Nursery rhymes such as "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary" or "Little Miss Muffet" should stand out to many, but there were a few that I hadn't heard of before playing the game. Keep in mind, this wasn't that long ago, but at the same time, I was considerably young. I'd say... I was around 10 or so, and I had never heard of the nursery rhyme about Banbury Cross, or however it's spelled. Furthermore, I hadn't heard of Little Tommy Tucker either. But, generally, for most of them, I had heard of them and knew them somewhat well.
Let's see if I can name all of the nursery rhymes and the items that you were required to fetch.
"Little Tommy Tucker" required a breadknife.
"Humpty Dumpty" needed a ladder.
"Little Miss Muffet" was lost and needed your help to find her tuffet.
"Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary" had lost her watering can.
"Little Bo Peep" had lost a pair of sheep.
"There Was A Crooked Man" needed the crooked sixpence.
"Jack and Jill" needed a pail before they could tumble down the hill.
"Jack Be Nimble" desperately needed a candlestick to jump over. Preferably lit.
"There Was An Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe" had so many children starving, we needed to fetch some broth.
"Banbury Cross" needed a cockhorse to be ridden to it.
"Hickory, Dickory, Dock" without a mouse to climb the clock! So, we had to get that too.
"Hey, Diddle, Diddle", the cat had lost his fiddle.
"Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone" required... quite obviously, the little dog.
"Mary Had A Little Lamb" was pulling a Bo Peep and had lost her lamb.
"Little Jack Horner" didn't have his Christmas Pie to eat.
"Old King Cole" was a merry old soul when you fetched him his pipe, bowl, and his fiddlers three.
Overall, the game was a blast back then, and it's a shame that they haven't re-released it now. Encouraging kids to learn educational values through gaming is best done early. At least, that's how I feel about the whole ordeal. I know my cousin would definitely enjoy learning more than her alphabet, and games are a definite way to entertain those with short attention spans early on.
--
This was initially written about 6 years ago, so of course my cousin wouldn't need such a thing now. At the same time, I think it would still be pleasurable to her. I got her hooked on another game similar to this, Mixed-Up Fairy Tales. I really do still have a place in my heart for this game.
Game: Mixed-Up Mother Goose
Released: 1987
--
A game that was originally released in 1987, this game was made by Sierra Entertainment and had Roberta Williams' name tied to it as the creative director, I believe. Anyway, the game took sixteen different nursery rhymes and took out pivotal pieces from each, scattering them across Nursery Rhyme Land. You play the game as a little boy, or girl, and must help Mother Goose and the other citizens of Nursery Rhyme Land by fetching their required items.It was re-released on a CD some years later, with a graphical update as well as better sound. Along with this, the nursery rhyme characters came with voices for each. To add to that, when the nursery rhymes were completed, there would be a song for each, telling the nursery rhyme in a way that most children would generally remember, rather than merely speaking the lines out. I had once acquired the CD version of this game with a CD package called King's Quest Collection, and I have fond memories of some of the nursery rhyme songs.
Nursery rhymes such as "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary" or "Little Miss Muffet" should stand out to many, but there were a few that I hadn't heard of before playing the game. Keep in mind, this wasn't that long ago, but at the same time, I was considerably young. I'd say... I was around 10 or so, and I had never heard of the nursery rhyme about Banbury Cross, or however it's spelled. Furthermore, I hadn't heard of Little Tommy Tucker either. But, generally, for most of them, I had heard of them and knew them somewhat well.
Let's see if I can name all of the nursery rhymes and the items that you were required to fetch.
"Little Tommy Tucker" required a breadknife.
"Humpty Dumpty" needed a ladder.
"Little Miss Muffet" was lost and needed your help to find her tuffet.
"Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary" had lost her watering can.
"Little Bo Peep" had lost a pair of sheep.
"There Was A Crooked Man" needed the crooked sixpence.
"Jack and Jill" needed a pail before they could tumble down the hill.
"Jack Be Nimble" desperately needed a candlestick to jump over. Preferably lit.
"There Was An Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe" had so many children starving, we needed to fetch some broth.
"Banbury Cross" needed a cockhorse to be ridden to it.
"Hickory, Dickory, Dock" without a mouse to climb the clock! So, we had to get that too.
"Hey, Diddle, Diddle", the cat had lost his fiddle.
"Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone" required... quite obviously, the little dog.
"Mary Had A Little Lamb" was pulling a Bo Peep and had lost her lamb.
"Little Jack Horner" didn't have his Christmas Pie to eat.
"Old King Cole" was a merry old soul when you fetched him his pipe, bowl, and his fiddlers three.
Overall, the game was a blast back then, and it's a shame that they haven't re-released it now. Encouraging kids to learn educational values through gaming is best done early. At least, that's how I feel about the whole ordeal. I know my cousin would definitely enjoy learning more than her alphabet, and games are a definite way to entertain those with short attention spans early on.
--
This was initially written about 6 years ago, so of course my cousin wouldn't need such a thing now. At the same time, I think it would still be pleasurable to her. I got her hooked on another game similar to this, Mixed-Up Fairy Tales. I really do still have a place in my heart for this game.
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Press Start: March 4th, 2015
Welcome to the first video-game related post of 2015. New life is being brought back into this blog, one post at a time, so I figured I'd start with something simple. Today, I'm going to discuss Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker!
Game: Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (for the Wii U)
Released: December 5th, 2014
Hrm, the first thing to start off with would be the fact that I did love the Toad levels in Super Mario 3D World. They had a simplistic puzzle design, getting all of the Power Stars provided, but at the same time the use of the three dimensional graphics really made the camera your friend and your enemy at times. I am sure that Nintendo saw this as quite the wonder too and took the extra step to expand the Toad levels into its own game. Thus, we have the start of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker!
For those who have played Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 3D World, the concept of Captain Toad and the Toad Brigade are quite common. However, for the random person that may not have experience with this concept, let me enlighten you a bit. In Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel, the main characters to play are Mario and, after going through an extensive star-collecting spree, Luigi. We see Toads galore throughout the games in the several different levels, or planets, and even get to run in to the precursor adventures of Captain Toad and the Toad Brigade. He and his fellow Toads are journeying through the galaxy for adventure, and they prove to be Mario and Luigi's best bet when it comes to finding a pesky Power Star every now and then.
Moving on to Super Mario 3D World, it spreads out the similar player choice concept of Super Mario Bros 2 (where you have Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad as characters to play as) and allows you to run through new levels with interesting design concepts involved. However, at least once through each stage of the Sprixie Kingdom, you will come across a Captain Toad level, where you must use Toad's inability to jump and climb walls to scale the hazards and gather stars for our heroes to use. This is where the initial idea came in to play, and they expanded immensely upon it using data and designs from the original game.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker doesn't have you take control of the normal Toad we always associate with Princess Peach. No, he is running around with Peach, Luigi, and Mario in the Sprixie Kingdom or in Mario's dreams (spoilers!). Instead, Captain Toad is just your average Toad with a sense of adventure, and he follows his nose wherever he thinks he can find that certain air of danger. Teaming up with Toadette for this journey, they come across a Power Star at the top of a seemingly harmless temple and celebrate over their find. Only too late do they realize that something else had its eyes on the Power Star as well. A large bird comes in and steals the star and Toadette with it, and now it's up to Captain Toad to rescue his partner and recover the treasure!
To start off, the game runs through a few tutorial stages to introduce you to the mechanics of the game, in case you haven't played Super Mario 3D World before. As far as I am aware, the game only allows one player, so you will be using the Wii U Gamepad to perform most, if not all, of your actions. You simply run or walk around using the control stick, and in place of being able to jump on your enemies, you must use your brain and the terrain around you to ensure your survival. Each level is relatively small, or at least most of the ones that I've played through thus far, but each has three diamonds to collect and a small challenge tied to it, coupled with the obvious desire of getting a Power Star and clearing the stage.
You really get a sense of Toad's lack of power, when compared to the Toad you have control of in other games (even Super Mario Bros Wii and Wii U). Due to the heavy backpack Captain Toad carries around, he is simply unable to hop, skip, and twirl around his enemies. It is through this that they take away the familiarity of the franchise and really get your creative juices flowing. Perhaps you simply need to sneak by the enemies before they fall on you from above? Or maybe you need to dig up a turnip from a nearby patch and dispose of the creature? Why not have one of the other threats of the level do your foe in for you? I really enjoy this idea, as puzzle games themselves tend to stimulate your mind a lot more than mindlessly bopping your enemies on the head and moving on.
There are three books to the game with a bonus level depending on if you've got Super Mario 3D World data saved to your profile, giving you additional levels and challenges to play on. While the game does seem like a nice time-spender, it doesn't feel like it is necessarily its own game. The concept, as mentioned before, is from a previous mini-game from Super Mario 3D World, so a full price for something that was ripped out and put into full-game form doesn't necessarily make much sense other than from a money-making standpoint. For what it's worth, I'd say that Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker deserves a decent play-through for an avid Nintendo fan. If only the price was less to warrant how short it could truly be. It boasts at having over 70 different levels to play, but that is only including the Bonus levels involved.
Game: Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (for the Wii U)
Released: December 5th, 2014
Hrm, the first thing to start off with would be the fact that I did love the Toad levels in Super Mario 3D World. They had a simplistic puzzle design, getting all of the Power Stars provided, but at the same time the use of the three dimensional graphics really made the camera your friend and your enemy at times. I am sure that Nintendo saw this as quite the wonder too and took the extra step to expand the Toad levels into its own game. Thus, we have the start of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker!
For those who have played Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 3D World, the concept of Captain Toad and the Toad Brigade are quite common. However, for the random person that may not have experience with this concept, let me enlighten you a bit. In Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel, the main characters to play are Mario and, after going through an extensive star-collecting spree, Luigi. We see Toads galore throughout the games in the several different levels, or planets, and even get to run in to the precursor adventures of Captain Toad and the Toad Brigade. He and his fellow Toads are journeying through the galaxy for adventure, and they prove to be Mario and Luigi's best bet when it comes to finding a pesky Power Star every now and then.
Moving on to Super Mario 3D World, it spreads out the similar player choice concept of Super Mario Bros 2 (where you have Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad as characters to play as) and allows you to run through new levels with interesting design concepts involved. However, at least once through each stage of the Sprixie Kingdom, you will come across a Captain Toad level, where you must use Toad's inability to jump and climb walls to scale the hazards and gather stars for our heroes to use. This is where the initial idea came in to play, and they expanded immensely upon it using data and designs from the original game.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker doesn't have you take control of the normal Toad we always associate with Princess Peach. No, he is running around with Peach, Luigi, and Mario in the Sprixie Kingdom or in Mario's dreams (spoilers!). Instead, Captain Toad is just your average Toad with a sense of adventure, and he follows his nose wherever he thinks he can find that certain air of danger. Teaming up with Toadette for this journey, they come across a Power Star at the top of a seemingly harmless temple and celebrate over their find. Only too late do they realize that something else had its eyes on the Power Star as well. A large bird comes in and steals the star and Toadette with it, and now it's up to Captain Toad to rescue his partner and recover the treasure!
To start off, the game runs through a few tutorial stages to introduce you to the mechanics of the game, in case you haven't played Super Mario 3D World before. As far as I am aware, the game only allows one player, so you will be using the Wii U Gamepad to perform most, if not all, of your actions. You simply run or walk around using the control stick, and in place of being able to jump on your enemies, you must use your brain and the terrain around you to ensure your survival. Each level is relatively small, or at least most of the ones that I've played through thus far, but each has three diamonds to collect and a small challenge tied to it, coupled with the obvious desire of getting a Power Star and clearing the stage.
You really get a sense of Toad's lack of power, when compared to the Toad you have control of in other games (even Super Mario Bros Wii and Wii U). Due to the heavy backpack Captain Toad carries around, he is simply unable to hop, skip, and twirl around his enemies. It is through this that they take away the familiarity of the franchise and really get your creative juices flowing. Perhaps you simply need to sneak by the enemies before they fall on you from above? Or maybe you need to dig up a turnip from a nearby patch and dispose of the creature? Why not have one of the other threats of the level do your foe in for you? I really enjoy this idea, as puzzle games themselves tend to stimulate your mind a lot more than mindlessly bopping your enemies on the head and moving on.
There are three books to the game with a bonus level depending on if you've got Super Mario 3D World data saved to your profile, giving you additional levels and challenges to play on. While the game does seem like a nice time-spender, it doesn't feel like it is necessarily its own game. The concept, as mentioned before, is from a previous mini-game from Super Mario 3D World, so a full price for something that was ripped out and put into full-game form doesn't necessarily make much sense other than from a money-making standpoint. For what it's worth, I'd say that Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker deserves a decent play-through for an avid Nintendo fan. If only the price was less to warrant how short it could truly be. It boasts at having over 70 different levels to play, but that is only including the Bonus levels involved.
Monday, March 2, 2015
Press Play: March 2nd, 2015
This will be possibly a bi-weekly mention of a movie, whether it be something that has recently come out in theaters or something on a medium such as a DVD, Blu-Ray disc, or et cetera.
Title: Big Hero 6
Format: DVD
So Big Hero 6 recently came out on DVD/Blu-Ray and I'm sure in certain other formats too, by about a week or so now. The newest title released to DVD by Disney tells the story of a youth by the name of Hiro and, at first, his initial lack of drive in his life. His brother Tadashi attempts to inspire some spunk into him by taking him to see what he has been working on in college, and this is where we're introduced to characters such as Wasabi, Go Go, Honey Lemon, Fred, and the secondary focal character, Baymax.
I won't get too far into the story, as it is definitely worth watching it for yourself. However, this was inspired by Marvel, and given the rights that Disney has over the Marvel universe now, it is within their creative liberties. Big Hero 6 isn't a new title itself, first making an appearance as its own comic series before the movie. I don't know much, nor will I pretend to know much, about it, but from what I've gathered, it was Japan's superhero team (think of it like the Avengers, at least that's what I do). All of the characters are present in the initial version, though it doesn't necessarily seem to be contained to just six: Hiro and Baymax are a team, almost like a single entity it seems, while Honey Lemon, Go Go, Wasabi, and Fred all have their own unique abilities that make them stand out in a team of superhuman abilities.
The movie takes the basic information provided and turns it into new material, retaining some of the classic information. Hiro's link to everyone relies upon his brother, Tadashi, who is going to college with the others (Honey, Go Go, Wasabi, Fred) and has created Baymax as a healthcare unit registered to respond when pain is vocally expressed. Later on, when everyone is given a way to fight, we can see some form of their original designs being incorporated into their new forms: Honey Lemon, in the comics, apparently had a purse that allowed her to pull from it anything she wanted (think of Washu's black holes or Mary Poppins's carpet bag); Go Go's suit allowed her to reach sonic speeds by becoming encapsulated energy, and while it isn't exactly like that in the movie, we can still see the theme of speed is the reasoning behind her outfit.
Wasabi is apparently a chef in the series, so his abilities in the movie rely on slicing and dicing, cutting through anything that comes at him. Fred, who is practically in love with comics and human transformations already, was already asking his friends to help him become a giant fire-breathing lizard (which he can in the comic), and through some cosmetic costume pieces, he's able to live his dreams. Hiro, the brains behind all of these upgraded abilities, acts as more of a user of Baymax, which he equips with thrusters, rocket fists, and a program scheme outlining martial arts techniques.
It was interesting to learn this, as even after I had seen the movie, I had no clue previously about the involvement of Marvel in the series other than the theme of superheroes. That can be said of anything, including DC, so I couldn't really use that as a basis for my thoughts. The movie itself is quite pleasing, especially the moments they lace their humor in to the story (early on and throughout the climactic scenes). There are some times when fairy tales fit Disney, and then there are other times where you can actually see them trying new things (with older IPs). Perhaps Disney won't make a mess of the other IPs they've acquired. Only time will tell.
Title: Big Hero 6
Format: DVD
So Big Hero 6 recently came out on DVD/Blu-Ray and I'm sure in certain other formats too, by about a week or so now. The newest title released to DVD by Disney tells the story of a youth by the name of Hiro and, at first, his initial lack of drive in his life. His brother Tadashi attempts to inspire some spunk into him by taking him to see what he has been working on in college, and this is where we're introduced to characters such as Wasabi, Go Go, Honey Lemon, Fred, and the secondary focal character, Baymax.
I won't get too far into the story, as it is definitely worth watching it for yourself. However, this was inspired by Marvel, and given the rights that Disney has over the Marvel universe now, it is within their creative liberties. Big Hero 6 isn't a new title itself, first making an appearance as its own comic series before the movie. I don't know much, nor will I pretend to know much, about it, but from what I've gathered, it was Japan's superhero team (think of it like the Avengers, at least that's what I do). All of the characters are present in the initial version, though it doesn't necessarily seem to be contained to just six: Hiro and Baymax are a team, almost like a single entity it seems, while Honey Lemon, Go Go, Wasabi, and Fred all have their own unique abilities that make them stand out in a team of superhuman abilities.
The movie takes the basic information provided and turns it into new material, retaining some of the classic information. Hiro's link to everyone relies upon his brother, Tadashi, who is going to college with the others (Honey, Go Go, Wasabi, Fred) and has created Baymax as a healthcare unit registered to respond when pain is vocally expressed. Later on, when everyone is given a way to fight, we can see some form of their original designs being incorporated into their new forms: Honey Lemon, in the comics, apparently had a purse that allowed her to pull from it anything she wanted (think of Washu's black holes or Mary Poppins's carpet bag); Go Go's suit allowed her to reach sonic speeds by becoming encapsulated energy, and while it isn't exactly like that in the movie, we can still see the theme of speed is the reasoning behind her outfit.
Wasabi is apparently a chef in the series, so his abilities in the movie rely on slicing and dicing, cutting through anything that comes at him. Fred, who is practically in love with comics and human transformations already, was already asking his friends to help him become a giant fire-breathing lizard (which he can in the comic), and through some cosmetic costume pieces, he's able to live his dreams. Hiro, the brains behind all of these upgraded abilities, acts as more of a user of Baymax, which he equips with thrusters, rocket fists, and a program scheme outlining martial arts techniques.
It was interesting to learn this, as even after I had seen the movie, I had no clue previously about the involvement of Marvel in the series other than the theme of superheroes. That can be said of anything, including DC, so I couldn't really use that as a basis for my thoughts. The movie itself is quite pleasing, especially the moments they lace their humor in to the story (early on and throughout the climactic scenes). There are some times when fairy tales fit Disney, and then there are other times where you can actually see them trying new things (with older IPs). Perhaps Disney won't make a mess of the other IPs they've acquired. Only time will tell.
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