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The Mount Rushmore of the N64
The Nintendo 64. What a beautiful library. Leaving the Super Nintendo and 2D games behind, Nintendo would launch their most ambitious console of all time, the Nintendo 64.
So many of its most recognizable IPs would become the faces of the most popular genres of the time. But if you could only limit yourself to four games, what would be the Mount Rushmore of the N64 library? There’s many ways to interpret that. For my purposes, I’m going with four games that proved Nintendo was cutting edge, the front of video game innovation, and define what it was like to own an Nintendo 64 – not necessarily my four favorite or the four best.
007: Goldeneye
I would be remiss to not mention a multi-player experience. There’s so many! Some of my favorites are Super Smash Brothers, Mario Kart and Mario Party 2. But looking back at the iconic nature of Goldeneye, I’m giving it the selection. Goldeneye was a behemoth on two fronts. It revolutionized both multi-player versus games as well as FPS games. Let’s tackle both points.
First, multiplayer. The Nintendo 64 was beloved for couch co-op and couch versus. It had four controller ports and a fantastic selection of games. Often, Goldeneye was the pick when we had friends or family over. Everyone had their favorite characters, weapons, and maps. I know for me, when I was at my grandmother’s with my brother our cousins would come from down the street. The four of us would play countless rounds of Goldeneye. We would play 2v2 and we would basically play King of the Hill with the Golden Gun. If your team had it, you made sure that person did not die.
To this day, almost 20 years later, the only multiplayer FPS games that come close to recreating that experience were when my brother and I beat Halo 3 together. Or when Xbox Live changed everything and I was able to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 online with a different cousin of mine even though we lived five states apart! [Man, the future used to be so cool!]
Now on to what it did for First Person Shooters. Goldeneye was my dad’s game. He was a fan of 007 movies. I still remember him bringing home Goldeneye the movie from Movie Gallery and my unhealthy obsession with Goldeneye was born.
As much as my dad and I loved the movie and as much as my dad played the game, oddly enough we never played it together. He only played the campaign. At the time, I didn’t realize how groundbreaking the campaign was. And it’s certainly easy to overlook. But prior to Goldeneye, Doom was the industry standard. It was fast-paced, tight corridor action, and had out of this world set pieces, literally.
Goldeneye was rarely any of that. Mission structures went from ‘find key and rush to the end’ to ‘explore massive levels and complete different objectives around the map’. Gunplay went from ‘guns blazing’ to ‘using a multitude of strategies for each new area’. There was an emphasis on mission variety that scaled with difficulty increases, exploration, elements of stealth and espionage, and strategically picking off enemies to not alert others.
These changes went unappreciated to a little kid like myself. Goldeneye was my first FPS… and I wasn’t very good at it. I would select the easiest difficulty and often end up alerting every enemy. For me, my 007 playthroughs often felt like Doom. Shoot up every enemy, ignore bonus objectives, and rush to the end.
But for skilled players, there’s a lot of depth and strategy that can go into each playthrough. That kind of experience varity just wasn’t present in First Person Shooters before it.
Very rarely do games perfect the blend of single player campaign depth and multiplayer versus depth. In fact, I cannot think of a game that makes both halves feel like the better part simultaneously [Halo is probably the only game series that comes close.] .
With all that said, I think its obvious that Goldeneye had one of the biggest impacts in video game history and is worthy of being on the Mount Rushmore of N64 games.
Star Fox 64
I would say Star Fox is an underrated candidate for Mount Rushmore status, but worthy nonetheless. Star Fox 64 is […was?] the second title in one Nintendo’s most ambitous IPs, Star Fox.
Debuting on Super Nintendo, Star Fox blew people away. It was built with the new Super FX chip in mind. This allowed the Super Nintendo to produce seemingly full 3D graphics years before the release of the Super Mario 64.
Four years later, Star Fox and team took to the skies again to redefine what a video game could be. In 1997, this game truly stood out. The game looked and played great. It featured tight on rail gameplay. The world’s felt lived in. Voice acted team members interacted to what you were doing [how many of you shot your teammates back in the day? Their responses were great]. Epic backdrops that were destoryed or blew up as you played were a visual feast for your eyes. There were giant bosses waiting for you at the end of the stage. And who can forget, dynamic path changes.
That’s right. As you made your way through the galaxy, your path could change depending on factors like how well you played. This allowed the game to have insane replayability, secrets to discover, and allowed the game to naturally handle difficulty scaling. As new or bad players would naturally follow the easier path, while veteran players could aim for different paths for harder experiences or new routes.
I loved this game as a kid. I would have to have the GameFAQ [who remembers that website?] loaded at all times to try to get my preferred route. However, I’m not a big on rail shooter or shoot ’em up fan. Meaning, as the N64 rotated out of the limelight and I moved on to newer things like the PS2, I never really went back to Star Fox. I tried newer space shooters and just never liked them.
But lately, as I reflect back on the N64, Star Fox always stands out to me as an epic, ambitious project. Panzer Dragoon released two years prior and did a lot to move Shoot ’em Ups in a good direction. But Star Fox’s branching paths, voiced characters, 3 vehicle types [did you know there was a submarine in Star Fox 64?], and the rumble feature make this a unique experience on the Nintendo 64!
Super Mario 64
No Nintendo 64 Mount Rushmore would be complete without Super Mario 64. Oddly enough, this is a game I feel a lot of hard core retro players go out of their way to hate. That might sound funny on the surface, but I know a lot of Nintendo 64 gamers who swear Banjo Kazooie is better in every way. Banjo had cooler power ups, bigger levels, a great cast, and Rare’s signature ability to just make an awesome N64 game.
Even I say Donkey Kong 64 is my preferred 3D platformer. I love the epic levels, the five playable characters, the mission diversity, and of course Rare’s signature ability to just make an awesome N64 game.
But Super Mario 64 is just timeless. It’s a classic. Wonky level design and atrocious camera aside, I’d argue this is one of the Godfathers of video games.
Mario 64 was revolutionary in ways that we cannot really fathom today. Other companies tried to create 3D games. Sony wasn’t dumb. They saw what Nintendo was cooking up. They released several games that tried to be first to market as a true 3D game on home consoles. But there’s a reason people often remember Super Mario 64 as that first truly epic home experience 3D game. Because it nailed it.
Nintendo designed the console and the controller around this game [apparently they had a bunch three arm humans playtesting this game.]. Of course it was going to work.
Super Mario 64 worked back then and still captures the hearts of people today for a couple of reasons. A. The controller. People give it a hard time, but it was vital to video games being able to transition to the 3D space. For starters, the joy stick. You may forget the original PS1 controller did not have joysticks. They stuck with the traditional D-Pad. Needless to say, the joystick allowed for more fluid and complete movement. The C-Buttons were also paramount. In Mario 64 the C-Buttons are always active, allowing the player to rotate camera options to find the exact style they need for each situation.
B. The pick up and play nature of the game. Mario 64 isn’t bogged down with an amazing story, just what you need to know for an adventure. Princess Toadstool [who the heck is this Peach character I keep hearing about?] has baked Mario a cake. Mario arrives to learn that Bowser has made himself at home. Its up to Mario to stop him. That’s really the jist of the story. Mario has access to two levels right away. Bom-Omb Battlefield and Princess’s Secret Slide. The player can amass quite a few stars with just these two levels. Once the player has rounded up a handful of stars, the entire first floor becomes available [even more levels than that if you know how to backwards long jump into the wall and shoot yourself through doors, but that’s a different story.].
I think its that degree of ease and unlockability that makes it so easy to get into. It doesn’t feel like you have to grind experience points for hours to get new abilities or face unbeatable bosses to advance. You just need to go around having fun, collecting stars, and occasionally beat Bowser.
C. The perfect first stage. I’ve never played a game before where the opening level is just simply this perfect. It is simple. It is open. It is the perfect level for a sandbox game. Mario drops in, has a nice open area to run around in, and eventually, a mountain to climb. Here, a boss awaits him to test his strengths. This stage also test your ability to find hidden shortcuts, collect red coins, and even fly through the sky. It is great at teaching players simple mechanics and giving them areas to test the basics for harder stunts later.
And that’s the thing, each level will build on what the player has learned. Future levels add wall kicks, other hats, environment hazards like lava, but Bom-Omb Battlefield allows the players to get a grasp on gameplay before sending them out into the bigger world.
D. The music slaps. It just does. Simple as that.
Super Mario 64 was a system seller unlike any system seller I’ve ever seen before. Sony had epic cinematic works of art that were great in their own right, but Super Mario 64 is the pinnacle of what makes gaming fun. [And did I mention you can pull Mario’s face on the home screen to make funny faces? 10 out of 10]
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Where do you even start with arguably the greatest game of all time? For everything I said about Super Mario 64’s simplicity and commitment to nailing the little things, is true of Zelda but with mastering the large scale nature of a video game. The quest is epic, the setting is great, the items are perfect. And honestly, what this game doesn’t get credit enough for is being the perfect size game. Literally, if you asked how big a game should be before it feels bloated, I would point to Ocarina of Time. Breath of a Wild is truly an insane adventure but it is filled with so much empty space and an obnoxious amount of Korok seeds. [I will never complain about the 100 skulltulas every again].
Locations are another strength of the game. There’s plenty of diversity here so no location feels the same as a previous one. Death Mountain, Lake Hylia, The Lost Woods, The Gerudo Desert, and on and on. The game also used a time jump mechanic where you play as kid Link and adult Link. This allows them to essentially double the map as exploring locations as a adult feel different from exploring them as a kid.
Side quest are also done in a healthy amount. There’s the heart pieces and songs to collect. The mask quests, skulltulas to find, poes to kill, a fishing hole, horse racing, and plenty of weapon upgrades that all give Link plenty of stuff to do if you get bored of the main quest. Again, all of this is manageable. Even if I love side quest and gameplay diversity in my games, this feels like a healthy, manageable amount for the average gamer and why I don’t think Ocarina of Time suffers from bloat like many games did around this time. Bloat in video games is an epidemic that has only gotten worse in video games.
Of course, we can’t talk about why Ocarina of Time was cutting edge for the time without mentioning the Z Lock on system. Ever gone back and played a game only for it not to hold up well? Yeah, that isn’t a problem here. Ocarina of Time aged amazingly. Compare it to the OG Resident Evils. They were masterpieces upon release. But tank controls, static camera angles, and a… looser[?] aiming system have many modern gamers saying those games are nearly unplayable today. [Of course a tad bit of exaggeration, but this is the case for a lot of older games.].
The jump to 3D was not kind to every combatant. Many didn’t understand level design, how to make smooth movement, or how to aim in a 3D space. I simply just do not see those flaws in Ocarina of Time and a large part is Link’s ability to lock on. This made sword fighting and ranged weapons easy to use and actually kill enemies.
In my mind, Ocarina of Time is the definitive open world adventure game of its time. Combat is easy, movement is smooth, the world is the perfect size, plenty of great NPCs to make the world feel lived in, great and iconic items and weapons, cool use of magic, great dungeons, and memorable boss fights. Yes I’m biased, but I cannot think of a single complaint for this game that isn’t just nit picking [like how in the original you have pause to equip the iron boots and then pause to unequip them.].
There you have it. My Nintendo 64 Mount Rushmore! I tried to leave bias out where applicable. For example, Star Fox and Goldeneye aren’t in my top 4 N64 games, but I think their impact was too great to ignore.
One game that would be in the running off of contributions to gaming would be the Pokemon Stadium series. Their transfer packs were huge at the time. The rental pokemons were kind of a joke, but with the transfer pack you could migrate your Gameboy team over to your Stadium cart.
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon I think would be worthy based on just how great of a game it truly was. A lot of people say Perfect Dark deserves to be on the list because it took what Goldeneye established and improved upon it, but Goldeneye was just so instrumental to this era that its hard to leave it off.
Let me know what games make your Mount Rushmore of Nintendo 64! And let me know what console I should do next! Thanks for reading have a great day!
Five Games That Did Open World Perfectly
Lately, I’ve been watching a good bit of RetroBird. One thing became apparent quickly. He hates Open World Gaming… and I’m slowly finding myself agreeing with him. I’m tempted to do a video later discussing my thoughts on open world games and how my thoughts have changed. But today’s topic is addressing 5 games that I think did it perfectly.
Today, we will be discussing one of the biggest buzz worlds in all of the gaming industry- Open World. Open World Gaming is often associated with freedom. Freedom is how you approach tasks, exploring or just goofing around. These games are less linear and rigid and more vague in design. Take the latest Pokémon games, Pokemon Scarlett and Violet. The player has the free to take on the Gym Leaders, defeat the members of Team Star, conquer the Titan Pokémons or do none of that and just go work on your Pokedex. That is one of the beautiful things about Open World Gaming. However, that’s not to say these games are perfect. These games can suffer from filler content, empty worlds, and repetitive tasks that burn the player out. With all that said, let’s look at 5 games that did Open World Perfectly!
Let’s just start with Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom. I actually prefer the more formulaic style of Zelda games such as Ocarina of Time or Wind Waker. However, as far as open world games go, BOTW and TOTK are really solid. The way the world is devastated and you are just dropped into the middle of it and have to piece together the lore and history of this Hyrule is really exciting. Granted, chests and other exploration rewards are not really that enticing in these games. The big draw to Zelda and open world games are how they handle both the exploration and items. They give access to all the runes and the glider a few hours into the game. Long gone are the days of grinding out dungeons to get the next item to move on to the next section of the map. This means you can literally go anywhere you want in the game. It’s just a matter of how much health and stamina you want before you start tracking down the story beats and boss fights. That’s a huge plus for open world games. There’s very few places actually off limits. And to keep highlighting the pros of BOTW’s open worldness, it is very simple. Yes, there’s side quests. But they don’t feel like they are bloating the game. Yes, there’s combat and wild encounters. But they don’t slow the pace of exploration. Honestly, I didn’t value or appreciate these aspects when Breath of the Wild came out. I felt it was shallow and not an actual grand time. Wind Waker felt epic. Breath of the Wild felt empty. But, you know, I respect the way it cuts out a lot of fluff most open world games suffer from.
Next up is Sonic Frontiers. If you know me, you know I don’t like Sonic games, especially 2D Sonic games. So why is Frontier a perfect open world game? The game worlds are massive which can be a detriment to other games. There’s very little in the way of NPCs. The side quests are that rare blend of varied but repetitive. The game will shift between 2D and 3D style. So it bears repeating. Why is Frontiers a perfect open world game? Atmosphere! Sonic blew up because he nailed the atmosphere in the 90s. He was fast, he had an attitude. He knew why people liked him and wanted to play Sonic games. This game figured out how to do speed. The use of an open world allowed them to capture that Sonic essence. It encouraged the developers to design the worlds and challenges to be large in scope. This way Sonic’s quickness and platforming skills were on display. I think this game shows off one of the factors that can separate a bad or decent use of open worldness from a great one: how we explore. Sonic’s use of velocity and the epic scaling of the monsters and terrain made this feel like a true adventure.
Let’s talk about maybe the best sandbox series of all time. Grand Theft Auto. Truly groundbreaking, but rarely duplicated. There’s just nothing quite like it in the open world space. Every GTA game was massive in scope. But GTA 3 shook the gaming world like very few games ever have. In my opinion, GTA 4 took that and just made it into an unstoppable juggernaut. There was truly so much to do in this game. Racing missions, heist missions, dating missions, the list goes on and on. There’s two things the Grand Theft Auto series has going for it as far as sandbox gaming goes. First, just like Breath of the Wild and Sonic Frontier, the method for which the player traverses the world. It may come as a shock, but for Grand Theft Auto that method was, well… Grand Theft Autoing. Jacking a car from a defenseless (or maybe not so defenseless) NPC and driving away with the radio blasting was the soundtrack that defined many childhoods. The second thing on it’s side, which I think it does better than the previous games, is that the world is alive. The NPCs are fleshed out and matter. The environment tries to actively kill you from police, gang members, armed civilians and trains, you are never safe. There’s radio stations with music or news. There’s internet cafés, dates, consequences and much more that help engross you into the world. Open World games don’t get much better than the Grand Theft Auto series.
Recently, the series that’s got the closest to emulating Grand Theft Auto is Spiderman. They captured that lively city approach that only Grand Theft Auto had before. Joe Jonah Jameson pollutes the air waves spewing antispidey propaganda. The cops are desperately trying to slow down criminal activity, everybody lives in fear of Kingpin hiding in the background. One of the strong things Spiderman has to lean on is the IP itself. Mary Jane, Oscorpse, the Sinister Six, Aunt May, so many established and beloved characters mesh and flow so well in the universe Marvel and Spiderman have spent 60 years weaving. Insomniac perfectly captures how we all thought it would feel to swing through New York City as everybody’s favorite friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
Lastly, Fallout. Fallout New Vegas is my favorite open world game. This time around, it takes all the good things I said about Breath of the Wild and many of the other games, and turns it upside down. There’s no fun way to explore. The worlds aren’t bright and vibrant. There’s dread lurking down every street. Blood thirsty Raiders set up camps along the deserted highways, radiation contaminates the once pure air, experimental monstrosities now stalk the bombarded hellscape. You must piece together the lore of the land. You will forge alliances with what’s left of the survivors. You will level up your character through a branching skill tree that allows for nearly unlimited replayability. It’s one of the few open world games where I don’t get tired or burned out of exploring every nook and cranny the world has to offer. I don’t feel betrayed by my curiosity.
So, that’s my list of some of the games I think do open world perfectly. Sure, there’s plenty more such as Red Dead Redemption, Skyrim and The Witcher, but these are the ones I feel the most passionate about. My findings seem to show games that put emphasis on making exploring fun while mixing in world building elements tend to keep my interest as I’m playing. Nothing derails open world games faster than monotony traveling or uninteresting worlds.
If you haven’t, check out Retrobird. He has tons of great video game discussion videos that I cant get enough of. Thanks for reading, and have a great day!
My Recent Video Game Pick Ups!
As some of you may remember, I made a post saying I would be showing off my video game picks up. Well, today is that day! We got games I’ve wanted to play for a while now. We also picked up some heavy hitters. Check these out!
Oh, boy! The next installment in the Zelda series. It’s a darn good one. I’m enjoying it more than BOTW, but both are amazing games.
Pokemon Rumble Blast is a game I’ve wanted for what feels like forever. I found this game at my LGS about 2 years ago. Only they had lost the key to the showcase it was in. Well, recently, they found that key, haha. It’s a game I’m glad to have in my collection, finally!
This was a game I loved as a kid. My brother and I no-lifed this game. It taught me a lot about the Marvel universe. I now work at a comic book store, and this game helped guide me down this route. Now, my wife and I love the MCU and talking comics. I’ve been wanting to play this awesome beat em up with her for almost a decade.
Now on to the heavy hitters! Castlevania among the other 2 does seem kinda dudish, but I was able to pick up both Castlevania games at an absolute deal! I did pay retail for Ogre Battle 64, but it was super clean. Admittedly, I’m a lot more interested in trying Castlevania over Ogre Battle. That’s mostly because I’m into action adventure games more so than RPGs. However, the N64 is starved for RPGs, so I’m glad to have one of the few! These two join the likes of Beast Wars, Bomberman 2nd Attack and Conker as some of my biggest hitters on the console!
So that’s my haul, guys! What do yall think of these? What systems or games do you collect? Let me know in the comments down below!
Thank you guys for reading and have a great day!
Games at E3 2021 I’m most excited for!
E3 has come and went. While the presentation did not quite live up to the hype, there was still plenty to be excited about. Now, full disclaimer. This list is based solely off my taste, my anticipation of the game, and how close it is to coming out. So while the new Zelda game is probably the game I’m most hyped about, it doesn’t have a release date and will get docked points accordingly.
Starting the list off is Monster Hunter Stories 2. Admittedly, I missed the first entry in this game series. I also wasnt a huge fan of the Monster Hunter on Wii U. Still, the trailer for this game looked pretty solid and interesting. I’m not fully convinced I’ll pick this game up short of a sale, but I can say it looks fun nonetheless.
Next up is Final Fantasy Origin: Strangers in Paradise. Part of me is excited for this game due to my renewed interest in the series, namely FFI and FFVII. But that’s what’s so cool about it. I beat Garland again in FFI the night before Square’s presentation . The game supposedly plays like the Soul’s franchise. Again, another franchise I’ve never really played. In fact, it is a bit of a turn off. However, I do enjoy the lore of Final Fantasy so I’m willing to dive into this game. Especially if it pops up on Gamepass.
Halo Infinite is Xbox Series X’s flagship title. With a purchasable campaign complimented perfectly with a free to download multiplayer experience, Halo Infinite will attempt to kickstart Microsoft’s foray into the next generation of gaming. I believe this will be made available immediately on Gamepass, so I’ll probably visit this soon after it drops on Gamepass. I did not own an original Xbox, so I missed out on Halo 1 and 2. However, as a proud 360 owner, my brother and I beat the campaign of Halo 3. I fell out of the series after that installment marked the end of the Bungie run on Halo. I am hopeful this iteration of Halo will capitate me again like Halo 3 did nearly 15 years ago!
Now, Metroid Dread. I think Metroid 1 is very outdated and Super Metroid is a joy to explore. I’ve never played the GBA entries but Dread looks a great return to form for 2D Metroidvania games. This is most likely not a day one purchase but a game I’d love to grab eventually. Bonus points for the extended gameplay shown off.
Next is Elden Ring. Elden Ring is what I always imagined the Zelda franchise turning into. Skyrim feels almost like what Zelda BOTW would be if it was developed by not Nintendo. Elden Ring feels like what Twilight Princess or Zelda 2 would be if it was developed by not Nintendo. Truthfully, I cannot really tell you what’s going on, but this game looks epic. That is enough to get me excited. If this comes to Gamepass, it is a day one download. I am still a physical collector at heart, even with the new generation of consoles out. With that said, I need to see more in-game footage before I commit this to the day one purchases.
Zelda Breath of the Wild 2 (for the record, not the official name as of the writing of this post), Starfield and Stalker 2 all seem too far out to judge now. However, I think it is safe to say, they will be some of the best in show at E3 2022 and be in competition for game of the year next year. We did not see a lot, but what we did see, gives me plenty of hope in these titles.
Far Cry 6 seems to be one of, if not the biggest multiplat coming out this year. Ubisoft can be hit or miss in their business practices and games they release. However, there is no denying their juggernaut status in the world of 3rd party developers. Owning titles like Rayman, Assassin’s Creed and the Tom Clancy games to name a few, Far Cry is another long running franchise under their belt. Far Cry 6 stars Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad and The Mandolorian!) as its villain. That alone is plenty enough reason to be hyped for this game. The setting looks good, the weapons look fun and the last few Far Cry games have been instant hits. Far Cry 6 is sitting pretty close to the front on the hype train this year.
Guardians of the Galaxy has become one of my favorite MCU movies and teams. While that has not translated into me reading their comic series more, I am beyond stoked to suit up as Peter Quill, Star Lord. This was one of the few games that received extensive screen time. I would say do not listen to the haters of this game. Everybody is judging it off the fact no one liked Marvel’s Avengers the game. This game seems, for now anyway, completely different. We could be wrong and it could suck. However, nothing about the in-depth breakdown gave me any concern. For the most part, if I had to name anything to be worried about, it is repetitive gameplay. I am not always into brawlers. Hopefully there is more than mindless action to keep me engaged. If not, the decision making dialogue and the way Peter can call on his members individually to take advantage of their power’s will potentially keep things interesting throughout the play through. This probably won’t be a day one purchase. It comes out pretty close to Black Friday and the holidays in general. I am hoping it will go sale as there’s about 3 or 4 other games I will be picking up around this time.
Such as Mario Party SuperStars for example. Another game that got plenty of screen time. I am sold already. Featuring 5 boards and 100 minigames from the golden age of Mario Party, this game is set to be a blast this holiday season. I cannot remember if they revealed any additional modes other than the traditional party mode. Regardless, this game should serve as a great stop gap until the next mainline Mario Party game comes out. I am truthfully ecstatic to play this game.
I should note, there are plenty of games that look good that just don’t interest me. Instead of naming them all, I will just highlight Shin Megami Tensei V. I don’t see the appeal of this game, but Jessica adores Persona 5 and wants to hop into the SMT series. This will probably be her jumping in point. Maybe it will grow on me? Either way, this is one of those games that cemented Nintendo won E3. This, Metroid and Mario Party SuperStars was enough to win it even without throwing in the BOTW 2 trailer and the other goodies they sprinkled in along the way.
However, the game I am most excited for is Psychonauts 2. I really want Psychonauts 1 to come to Gamepass. I played through some of it on Steam, but if they released it on Gamepass with achivements and the ability to play it on the big screen than I would be over the moon. Either way, Psychonauts 1 was great from what I played of it. Psychoanuts 2 looks like a beautiful, vibrant 3D platformer. I haven’t watched much of it past last years reveal trailer. However, I heard it is coming Day 1 to Gamepass and that is huge. I cannot wait to get my hands on it.
Man, this E3 got crapped on. And at times, it was horrible. However, I think enough good games got revealed or showed off that it was at least salvageable. There’s a lot of things to look forward to this year and next.
Thank you guys for reading and have a great day!
Lets Talk: New Nintendo Console!
So, the Nintendo Switch or NX or whatever you would like to call it has been revealed. Be sure to go check out the release trailer if you have not already.
This is definitely something worth talking about. I give Nintendo the benefit of the doubt, so until the actual release, I will be waiting with great excitement. I only just watched the video and there was a lot to digest. I, in no way, have all the details, nor have been following it very attentively. With that in mind, I am going to turn the discussion over to you guys.
What do you guys think of this new console? Will it reinvent the home console? Do you believe it is just a gimmick? Will this revitalize Nintendo or officially run them out of business. I’ll do a follow up blog once I’ve viewed more of the games and understand the features better.
I’ll leave you with some of my early thoughts to generate discussions.
Games Showcased: Obviously, Breath of the Wild is the money maker. Nintendo, in my opinion, was smart holding onto this big boy. It can help get the Switch off on the right leg. Remakes of great Wii U games seem plentiful. Mario Kart and Splatoon to headlined this. I missed Splatoon on the Wii U so this might be a good chance for me to pick it up. I typically do not do remakes unless it is of games I love. However, I know remakes helped carry Xbox One and PS4 early on with the Last of Us remake as well as the Master Chief Collection. I do not know if that was Mario remake showcased or a new title. They also showed an NBA game as well as 1st person mid evil looking game.
Mechanics/Portability: This has been a highly debated topic sense the Wii tried to reinvent gaming back in the day. However, this one looks like it makes sense. The “On the go” gaming looks like a good selling point. I mean, who doesnt want to play video games in cars? I think it is great and they have a traditional controller if this does not interest you. The real question is will this hurt the 3DS? I dont know because Pokemon should keep the 3DS alive.
So, If Nintendo has lost you over the years, what does this console have to do to win you over? The biggest fault I have with Nintendo is not the hardware, but the games. The first party’s are still amazing and the Switch is shaping up to keep that trend alive, but they do need a bigger 3rd party support. I have a One because I too need to branch out at times. Fallout 4 and Witcher are great games Wii U owners will never get to experience.
Show me great 3rd party support and this console should save Nintendo. They have moved past naming everything Wii, so hopefully there is no marketing disasters.
Here’s to hoping March is a great month for gaming!
Announcement: Youtube, Daily Blog, Mew Mythical Collection
Hey, guys. It’s time for another life update.
So you guys have probably noticed post have slowed down again. Daily Blog is officially being put on hold. Here is why:
In 2009, I started my very first youtube channel. I was 14. I made some good friends. My brother and I were best friends and bonded over making videos and playing games. I had not even started high school yet, and somehow, this was what I was wanting to do with my life. I commonly remember this time period as the second best time period of my life.
My sophomore year of high school I gave YouTube a second try. Me and my friend did improv/sketch comedy. We sent them to all our friends and we had a small following in our home town. Yet again, this was one of the best periods of my life(at the beginning anyway). My senior year, my friend and I could not see eye to eye with what to do with the channel, he eventually realized we should not change our style, but it was too late. I had already lost interest.
My junior year, I returned to my roots and began let’s playing again. It had no momentum this time and suddenly, I was having editing problems. The audio and video were out of sync. At first, I tried fixing and working around it. It become too tedious and, coupled with school, just got lost in mud.
In 2013 as a freshman in college, I decided I wanted to return to YouTube. Roughly three years later, I get a chance to return to the website I love.
When I first started out, videos did not have to be 1080, the market was not super over saturated with lets players, and half the people you know and love today either were not around or were not nearly as popular. It was simply a different time.
I’ve tried. I’ve lost passwords, interest, and patience. But I’m here this time to see it to the end. So come along with me.
Right now I am let’s playing Pokemon: Golden Age for some friends. You should check it. I already have two videos out and I’m hoping to upload frequently. Just search DaHubbz in your YouTube.
For what I am doing for today, I’m going to my local Gamestop. They should have 4 of the Mew Mythical Collection tcg box. I’m strongly debating on buying all four. If I do, I might do a give away. If you want a more play-by-play and direct approach on this. Follow me on twitter to see what I decide over at Dahubbz.
Manga mondays and all that jazz are still on going so stay tuned for more reviews!
As always, thanks for reading this!
Check back later for more content!
Daily Blog Challenge: February 20th
Today’s Theme: Favorite Side Quest
The Legend of Zelda is different from the traditional RPG in many ways. From no class system, to rarely using a level up system, Zelda is more of an Action Adventure game in a lot of ways. The way they handle side quest is no different.
Instead of just throwing 8 billion side quest at you for random amounts of EXP, Zelda limits to it a few with varying degrees of rewards. A majority of the side quests are just collectibles like heart pieces, songs, and masks. A handful of others are quest to get better swords(Tempest Sword[LTTP] Big Goron Sword[OoT] Razor Sword [MM] and a few more].
I scratched my head and went back and forth and back and forth. I originally was going to do the Big Goron sword. This was an aspect that stuck out to me about Oot. I quickly changed my mind, because, well I do not actually enjoy this side quest. It is just infamous to me.
Than I was going to the Couples Mask aka Kafei’s Quest. Alas, this was just one of those nostalgia side quest, that I did not actually enjoy that much. The reward was substantially less than the big goron sword, but the sense of satisfaction was high (I talked about this in my Majora’s Mask Top Five Mask post. Check it out!)
Who can forget the hilariously awesome trading side quest from Links Awakening! Anything with Yoshi is almost an auto include.
Finally, I made my decision: Gold Skulltulas
This was a huge collectible side quest in Ocarina of Time. It made me constantly on my toes. In every village, house, and dungeon listening for that eerie and unmistakable slithering on the wall. It does not hurt to be constantly rewarded for your efforts either. From wallets, rupees, and even the stone of agony.
The gold skulltulas return to Majora’s Mask in a cool and different way. The concepts the same(collectibles) but instead, they are all inside the gold skulltula house instead of all over the world.
So, what your favorite side quest in the series? Let me know.
Thanks for taking the time to read this!
Check back tomorrow for more daily content!
For more updates follow me on twitter @dahubbz or join my forum dahubbz.proboards.com
Daily Blog Challenge: February 19th Top Five Mask of Majora’s Mask
What songs did for Ocarina of Time, Mask did for Majora’s Mask. Right off the bat, I’ll say this was actually a pretty hard list to throw together(maybe the hardest one I’ve done) because you get past the transformation mask, the others do not do that much. But it’s the wackiness, charm, overall sense of accomplishment you get from collecting that mask that lands these masks spots. Today I’m telling you my favorite mask of the game (Excluding the transformation masks)
#5- Bunny hood- If it’s a hood is it technically a mask? I have a love/hate relationship with this mask, which is why it sits at number 5. Every time I dive into my adventure in Termina, I think to myself “Go get the bunny hood” I mean, you’re turning Link into a bunny rabbit which is precious, and you become a little speed demon. But in the other games it appears in(Notably Smash Bros) I feel like it makes me too fast. Weird compliant, but that’s just how I feel.
#4 Kamaro’s Mask- This mask man. I love this mask. As far as being my favorite, it’s virtual number 1, however, I believe it’s usefulness extends only to getting a heart piece. However, making Link bust out in dance is one of my favorite memories!
#3 The Couples Mask- In other words, the reward for the actual story line. I do not know if this a universal feeling, but I care more about the story of Anju and Kafei than the main quest. I think this has to do with my childhood experience. I never cared for the main quest of Majora’s Mask growing up. I mean, I’m older now and appreciate the existentialism feel of the main quest. Heck, this game is oozing existentialism, which is why I think this game aged well with me. However, back in the day finishing Anju and Kafei’s side quest is something I just recently finished on the 3ds remake. The Couples Mask was previously not obtained by my hands for over a decade! The usefulness of the mask in another story, but as far my heart goes, this is a special mask.
#2 Fairy’s Mask- I do not actually like this mask. It interrupts when you could be wearing literally ANY OTHER mask, but it is by far one of the most useful mask outside the transformation masks. I wish it added some property to Link’s stat such better magic consumption or better defense, but alas, if you go through with collecting every fairy, you will be rewarded
and now for a…
TIE!
That’s right. We got a tie at number one!
I’ll start with the most useful of the mask.
The Stone Mask- I actually do not use this mask. I really mostly play as the goron or zora, so these other mask get in the way. But it makes you invisible to most enemies, which is beyond busted. It’s even a nice touch that you have to use the Lens of Truth to see the giver of the mask. Even though I do not personally use it, it sounds deadly enough to justify a top spot.
Now for my personal favorite
The Mask of Truth- If there is one side widget I’ve also been fascinated with, it’s the Gossip Stones. It’s another one those principles where I liked the mysterious feel to the stones so I never looked anything up about them to preserve the unknown. I believe in actuality, they are just the fortune tellers of this world. Though I would love for some duds to be in there or where they just give you bullcrap info. haha.
Anyway this list was a mix between usefulness and my favorite, but I think’s pretty fair. I really wanted the Blast Mask for the sake that is always the first mask(outside of Deku) that I get.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Check back tomorrow where I’ll attempt another daily post!
Daily Post: February 16th Top Five Islands of Windwaker
This was the top five I was going to do last Friday. I hope you enjoy
Wind Waker was beautiful, vibrant, and one of the most immersive Zelda games to date. The open world, vast sea, and countless number of Islands gave it a surreal feeling I think Zelda was missing for quite a while. So how I would rank the best of the best islands
#5 Temple of the Gods- Clocking in at number five, this is a great island(or structure) to start our list. The history is endless and a good bit of story points occur here. The initial dungeon is one of my least favorite, honestly, but once you unlock its special warp point and go underwater it becomes one of the prettiest areas in the game. The epic battles, the amazing landscape and, Link, Tetra, and King of Red Lions fates unfold on it’s sacred grounds.
#4 Outset Island- As its name might suggest, this is the first island. The one Link originally sets out on. I originally thought to put it 5th but it is such an emotional island for Link himself. From losing Aryll, to making your grandma nearly die from sadness, or encountering Tetra for the first time, scoring your first kill in the woods. There’s also several things to do when you return later in your quest such as feeding a pig, testing your luck and might at the savage labyrinth, and hang out with the crazy, old man Orca.
#3 Dragon Roost Island- It’s very hard to not give this island number one. It was the first island that showcased just how crazy and diverse islands can be. It’s inhabited by the Rito tribe, bird people. They’re the carriers of mail and the whole interior of the main building is simply a post office. But it’s what’s around the building that keeps you interested. A new song, a fun mail game, the fire temple, a little bit of baby sitting, and big freakin Dragon, all await you here in Dragon Roost Island.
#2 Forest Haven- The nearest island that resembles some vintage Zelda. Zelda is known for it’s forest, mountain, and ocean scenery. To which I think Forest is the most iconic. Naturally, this island gets high on the list. The island is meh from the outside. A big, bare tree swallows the horizon, quickly becoming the only thing you can see. Once inside, the island comes to life. The giant Deku tree and little Koroks give the environment the umph it needs, as well as the beautiful water that submerges the ground. You also get one of the more iconic items in Wind Waker, The Deku Leaf. Yay, Link can fly. The forest temple and the Nintendo Gallery on the outskirts give you plenty to do during your stay.
#1- Windfall Island- To probably no one’s surprise, Windfall is my favorite island. There’s so much to do here, and all the characters are interesting and exciting. There’s a new song, a school, some punk kids, a guy obsessed with the moon, the return of the pirates, the bomb shop, more pigs, plants to be planted, missing kids, an auction, a giant windmill, Tingle!, and you meet the King of Red Lions. Wow, and I’m probably forgetting half the stuff. This island is full of energy and emotion. There’s so many stories, adventures, and memories on this island’s soil. You will get lost in time doing everything. I think the characters and quests on this island make Wind Waker a memorable game.
What’s your guys favorite island?
Thanks for taking the time to read this!
Check back tomorrow for more content!
Daily Post: February 13th
Sooo, Wednesday I babysat until Midnight, Thursday was out til past midnight, Friday I babysat until Midnight, and probably will be babysitting until midnight again tonight. I’m putting Daily Blog on a little break, because I have had no planning time. I have a huge exam and project due tomorrow.
Basically, all this week I have had no planning time for the daily post and like 3-5 of my last post have been me making something up really quick for the sake of posting daily.
I love the Legend of Zelda series and want to do it justice, which I haven’t this week.
I’m already working on some topics for next week.
I hope to return Monday with a Manga Monday review and new daily post. Also, I’m hoping to be announcing two big things next week. So bare with me. I’ll return Monday.
Until then, thanks for taking the time to read this!
Check back Monday for more content!
Enjoy your weekend.
Da_Hubbz 