Nintendo, Miyamoto Preview 2004 Releases 102
Thanks to Cube Europe for its article discussing forthcoming Nintendo products for 2004, including insight from Shigeru Miyamoto on his in-progress games. The information, sourced from Official Nintendo Magazine in the UK, "states that Metroid Prime 2, Geist, Pokemon Fire Red and Leaf Green will all be released in Europe before the end of the year", meaning a U.S. release for these games are also likely during 2004. Miyamoto is fairly guarded about his current projects, which also include Pikmin 2, and comments on the continued mystery behind the next Mario title: "With Mario 128 I have been challenging many unprecedented things, not found in existing video games... [and] prone to lose their freshness or to be imitated once they go public." Which Nintendo products are you most looking forward to this year?
Sounds cranky (Score:3, Interesting)
One has to assume Nintendo's got a bang-up E3 planned this year, though. Obviously the DS, but I'd guess new Mario and Zelda games announced at E3, as well as footage of Metroid Prime 2... probably good, considering the criticism they took for being underwhelming last E3.
Lukewarm? (Score:2)
Re:Sounds cranky (Score:5, Interesting)
Geist (Halo clone)
You should reserve judgement on a game until you've seen more than just a couple of screenshots... From my understanding, this game will be a bit more like Messiah [gamerankings.com], in that you are infact a ghost of sorts, and the object of the game is to complete certain objectives by possesing the in game inhabitants.. the difference lies in the fact the in Geist, you have to scare the bejezus out of your potential flesh vessel before you can take them over...
Halo clone? I think not... except maybe that they're both from a first person perspective... but if that were case, wouldn't HL2 just be a Catacombs3D clone?
I know it's one of the games I'm looking for, and it's certainly not because it's a Halo clone (if it was, I prolly wouldn't even know it's name)
Re:Sounds cranky (Score:1)
Re:Sounds cranky (Score:1)
As for pikmin.. it deserves a sequel.. and zelda... name a BAD zelda... it's not possible.
Re:Sounds cranky (Score:1)
in it's defence it was the only zelda game not on a nintendo system.
Re:Sounds cranky (Score:1)
It got rave reviews, sold well, and propelled console sales ahead of the PS2 for the week that it came out. And it was high on most year-end lists, if not at the top.
What the hell more do you want?
Re:Sounds cranky (Score:2)
Despite the fact that another poster has suggested that Geist is not, let's suppose that it is. However, isn't Halo just a Quake clone or a Goldeneye clone or a Half-Life clone? Presuming Geist was in the same mold wouln't it also be a clone of one of these older games as opposed to a clone of Halo? I mean clearly Megaman X5 is a clone of Megaman X4, and not the original Megaman or even Megaman X *sarcasm*. Oh, and while we're at it, whoever's the most recent person to try and patten
Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm not... (Score:1)
Looking forward to.. (Score:2)
I'm looking forward to the crystal [theregister.co.uk] aqua [gamespot.com] Gamecube. Oh come on, it's gotta be coming
Re:Looking forward to.. (Score:2)
Re:Looking forward to.. (Score:1)
Space World (Score:5, Interesting)
As mentioned in the comments, Nintendo's E3's have been rather underwhelming, but they have enough stuff to do a proper SW this year. However, I think the era of Nintendo having it's own little circle jerk (even a fun one) is over.
Don't get me wrong, I'm drooling over a myriad of things scheduled and rumored for this year, most defintely including Prime 2, Mario, Pikmin 2, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and some others.
Re:Space World (Score:1)
Re:Space World (Score:1)
mario 128 (Score:2, Interesting)
oh boy.. (Score:3, Insightful)
the old standby for Miyamoto/Nintendo. Let's just hope it's not another Mario Sunshine. They said the same thing about that, relating to the water pack idea. I really enjoy that game, but the mystery was more exciting than the reality, which should never be allowed to happen with video games.
Re:oh boy.. (Score:2)
Re:oh boy.. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:oh boy.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Anyway the water pack idea was brilliant, it solved one of the 2 problems with 3D platformers, that being difficulty controlling the character in 3D (the other problem being camera control, which Sunshine also improved). The addition of the water pack allows characters the ability to hover for a slight moment to better position their character after a jump - something that is often both hard and frusting in all other 3D platformers. Playing any other 3D platformer after Sunshine just leaves you feeling woefully unable to control your character.
Re:oh boy.. (Score:1, Informative)
Yoshi's Island (Score:2)
Below the Root, 1984 (Score:1, Informative)
Re:oh boy.. (Score:2)
Oh but they did. Super Mario Bros. 2, which incidentally was perhaps the most innovative of the lot, and the people who actually give it a chance love it, has been heavily shunned. This seems to be a universal rule among games; the sequel either improves upon the original in every way and the original is forgotten (see: Streetfighter 2, Warcraft 2, Suikoden 2, and all that) or, more commonly, the
Re:oh boy.. (Score:2)
It's also been thoroughly incorporated as a Mario game, as a fair number of enemies (sparkies, pokies, et c.) have returned throughout the years along with a lot of the music.
Sure, it wasn't intended as a Mario ga
Re:oh boy.. (Score:2)
Re:oh boy.. (Score:2)
It's very good, one of my favorites of this console generation, but not GREAT. So I tend to remember how a lot of people were pissed off when they finally got to play it. (personally I was too hyped up on the fact that I wa
I'm looking forward to... (Score:2)
---
http://spaceruckus.web1000.com [web1000.com]
These guys are putting together a free 3D action/adventure game.
Re:I'm looking forward to... (Score:1)
Re:I'm looking forward to... (Score:2)
I want Mario 128 to be great! (Score:5, Interesting)
He is a god. I worship him. I have sacrificed my dignity (as I am approaching 30 years old with a Game Cube instead of a PS2 or XBox) for him. I know, I place him on a high pedestal. But look at all he has done.
I am a Miyamoto groupie. If I was good looking and female, I'd follow him around begging to have his baby.
But I'm scared...
This past generation of Miyamoto products leave something to be desired. They aren't bad. They aren't complete idol crushing abominations like Episodes I and II. They just aren't as good as they used to be, and I hope this isn't the beginning of a very depressing downward trend.
I really want more than Mario 128 to be good. I want it to be great. I'm running out of heroes.
Re:I want Mario 128 to be great! (Score:5, Insightful)
Wind Waker? I thought it was fantastic, myself! Maybe no OoT, but certainly better than Majora's Mask was.
Pikmin? Hey...you know what, that was a hell of a lot of fun! And it was...weird. Almost creepy in its weirdness. I like that.
Luigi's Mansion? My sister loved it more than me, but I still had a lot of fun with it.
Sunshine? Takes too much heat if you ask me. It was better than 64 was, based purely on gameplay, it was just less innovative.
Those are all the ones I've really played extensively. And you know, with the exception of Sunshine, I'd say this is his most innovative crop yet!
Also, it's not as if every game he's ever made has been up there with Super Mario Bros. Even within my favorite franchise ever, Zelda, there are certainly versions that are only good, and not great.
I really see no cause to fret, even if 128 isn't as great as you could hope for. Though I sure hope it is, too.
Re:I want Mario 128 to be great! (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:I want Mario 128 to be great! (Score:3, Interesting)
Yeah, I'm messed up. Go ahead and laugh.
Re:I want Mario 128 to be great! (Score:2)
Luigi's Mansion is a great game. Not a lot of people gave it a chance because of how simple it is. But on the fun factor it is awesome.
Re:I want Mario 128 to be great! (Score:2)
I do like how they made sure to have many "MAAAA-RIO" samples, so you could keep pressing the button and it wasn't so blatantly going to the same clip all the time. That plus the way his humming/whistling would be so much shakier when he got hurt...
Re:I want Mario 128 to be great! (Score:2)
I'm sorry but the core of purchasers in the States have no idea who Miyamoto is. I highly doubt they all ran out to buy it like they do to buy the next Grisham book.
Starfox was not done by NOJ (Score:4, Informative)
He did work on StarFox64, at least as an advisor. Technical attributes aside, I found it to be a much weaker game overall than the original, which was the reason I bought a SNES.
Re:Starfox was not done by NOJ (Score:3, Insightful)
It was Miyamoto who saw promise in the game. He requested they work more on it, added the animal characters to the game (perhaps to add character to a simple polygon game?), and probably tweaked the controls (as he usually does whenever he working on something).
On top of this, the other post demonstrates that Japan had some involvement,
Re:Starfox was not done by NOJ (Score:2)
The controls tweaking is just a guess on your part - I find it unlikely, since the controls in the N64 version were worse in many ways, but it is still just a guess. And the animal chara
Re:Starfox was not done by NOJ (Score:2)
That's because Rare developed the second game. It took Nintendo a little while to realize how bad Rare was getting, especially since part of the team did so well with Goldeneye, and then proceeded to release the crap that was DK64.
Penny Arcade says it best [penny-arcade.com]. Note that I *liked* Starfox Adventures, but the comic definitely says what's wrong with DK64, and Donkey Kong Country 2, and Donkey Kong Country 3, an
Re:Starfox was not done by NOJ (Score:2)
I don't understand people who knock Star Fox 64 vs the original; I thought Star Fox 64 was great and gorgeous and it's why I bought the N64 when I did...it grabbed me in a way Mario 64 didn't.
Lots of great stuff, especially the "Independence Day / ID4" homage....man, that was cool, not 'til GameCube's Rogue Leader would I again get the feeling of swarms of enemy fighter craft to battle.
Plus,
Re:Starfox was not done by NOJ (Score:2, Informative)
There were 5 of us from Argonaut; 2 for the raw 3d FX-chip polygon engine back in England, and 3 for the 3d game engine at Nintendo in Japan.
Everything else was done by Nintendo; game planning, sound&music (which was absolutely brilliant IMHO, shame the guy left Nintendo afterwards), graphics and production.
Apart from (admittedly considerable) input from the 3 of us, the game's direction, design and development was contro
I stand corrected...mod my post down... (Score:2)
And thank you for your work on such a classic game.
Re:I stand corrected...mod my post down... (Score:2, Informative)
Anyway, we should have simply e
The New Characters (Score:1)
Could someone tell me? (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm a game developer, and let me tell you, if I could develop a game for that franchise, I'd develop a full 3D action RPG. Imagine if you will, Hyrule Field in Zelda Ocarina of Time. Remember walking around that as Link? Well why not as Ash, with Pikachu following faithfully at your side? The Cube can handle much more detailed outdoor environments than Zelda could. With proper level design, one could explore fields, woods, towns, and caves, battling and capturing Pokemon. One possiblity would be to have a system whereby you target a Pokemon just as Link targetted his enemies, and press a button to toss a specific pokemon into battle against it. Battles could then progress in a style similar to Pokemon Stadium, or perhaps a realtime or timer-based battle system could be created. Pokemon attacks, timer ticks down, you have 10 seconds to make a selection or it recovers from it's previous attack and attacks again.
What is stopping them from doing this??? This would be exactly the sort of game which would put them back on the map. A game with the depth and fun of the RPG, but with the great graphics and awe inspiring environments of a third person game.
They already have all the characters modeled and animated. What are they waiting for? Mario Sunshine shows that they could model the sorts of towns that are featured throughout the Pokemon anime very well. They already have battle systems worked out, the strengths of the various attacks. It seems trivial for them to do, and would have been a perfect way to put the Gamecube on top way back when. I thought when they developed Pokemon Stadium that it was leading up to this but the N64 came and went. Could they really be that shortsighted that they can't see what a great game Pokemon would make in 3D? They need something major to give Pokemon new life, and more limited 2D RPG's ain't gonna do it.
Ninendo would have to be fools not to have this kind of title for the next system. They need something fresh and new. Something expansive and grand. Something that takes games to the next level of detail and interactivity. A world teeming with life and filled with combat and adventure would be perfect.
Re:Could someone tell me? (Score:1)
Re:Could someone tell me? (Score:2)
It's certainly not the latest and greatest any more, but pokemon titles still consistently sell millions of copies. A few weeks ago in Japan they re-released the original titles (with a wireless networking adapter bundled) and those sold a million copies in only a few days.
I would hardly consider that a "was".
Re:Could someone tell me? (Score:1)
Oh well. Nintendo moves in mysterious ways.
Re:Could someone tell me? (Score:2)
Plus, would anybody complain about seeing those sweet fighting moves in 3D? I wouldn't. I mean, it's not important, of course. But give it to me. Now.
Re:Could someone tell me? (Score:2)
Though, isn't FE developed by R&D1? (i.e. Inteligent Systems, i.e. the people who made the Metroid and Advance Wars series). They didn't really survive the transfer to 3D IIRC. (The one 3D game of theirs I can think of is Paper Mario, and that was in development for a good six years; godly polish whe
Re:Could someone tell me? (Score:2)
20 hours, which is below average for an RPG, but I've played ones that were 10. I'll agree that I would like it to be longer, but this doesn't show a lack of polish.
I'd hit the limit of the number of medals which I could use. Thus I lost the joy of collecting and shuffling around and getting ever better medals
The point is you're supposed to choose between the badges (medals) not equip them all at once. Some of them work more effectively in a combo than others, and I often find mys
Re:Could someone tell me? (Score:2)
Re:Could someone tell me? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Could someone tell me? (Score:1)
Re:Could someone tell me? (Score:2, Funny)
Man Ash rocks. I don't think he needs any Pokemon companions though. I think he'd take a sawed-off to Pikachu's face however.
Oh wait, you mean that 'other' Ash....
Re:Could someone tell me? (Score:2)
Seriously, most kids are competing for television (and thus console) time with their family, but GBA's are always ready to go.
Try Pokemon Channel (Score:1)
All I want... (Score:2)
Let's see.
Well there's the new stuff from Capcom (Mega Man collections and more sequels)
Then there's new stuff from Square Enix (KH:Chain of Memories)
From nintnendo...
Mario 128
New Zelda
Zelda: Tetra's Trackers
Mother 3
Mother 1+2 (Release it stateside for crying out loud!)
Metroid Prime 2
Starfox Armada (or Starfox 2???)
That's all I can think of
Pokemon adventure (Score:3, Insightful)
Other than that every other nintendo game is offering fails to bring any enthusiasm. sorry.
Re:Pokemon adventure (Score:2)
What's an even bigger shame, and pisses me off to no end, is that my 12 year old brother will buy both copies for his GBA SP (keep in mind he already has a regular GBA) simply because there will be a couple extra bits of data on there for a few different pokemon. Biggest waste of $30 EVER. At least when he bou
Starfox all the way.... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Starfox all the way.... (Score:2)
It spoke more to the fanboy in me than the gamer -- but boy, was it a treat for the fanboy!
more of the same. (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't think there will be a Wind Waker sequel this year (not that I don't want to be proved wrong on that conjecture) I mean, if you think back to fall of 2002 (8 months before Wind Waker 1) there was a lot of buzz about it already, details were scarce because, well this is nintendo we are talking about, but there was at least something floating around about it. Granted, for a sequel you won't need as much advanced hype since people already have a good idea of what a cel-shaded cube zelda is going to be like but I can't imagine Nintendo wouldn't be tossing out some images here and there to encourage healthy sales of the now dirt cheap gamecubes.
The unexpected (Score:2, Insightful)
Personally, I'd like for Nintendo to do something completely unexpected. Sure, you could argue that the announcement of the DS was "unexpected" and in a way it was.
But at the same time, Nintendo doing seemingly idiotic things (read: most decisions they seem to have made in the past who knows how many years) is the only I think you can really expect from them these days. I'd like for them to get me excited about their products rather than having me scratch my head wondering just what the hell they were th
Mario Tennis (Score:1)