ShareThis
 |
| [display_podcast] |
Summary
Evan and Noah discuss Pokemon Conquest‘s appeal with a special guest, as well as imagine a purely digital Nintendo.
You can send in feedback to showmail at nintendojo dot com, facebook.com/nintendojo or twitter.com/nintendojo! You can also leave a comment below!
Recording Date
July 30, 2012
Hosts
Evan, Noah and Bradly
Contents
00:00:00 Introduction: Zelda Symphony and More 3DS XL Mania
00:15:40 Player Input: Bonsai Barber, Rhythm Thief and more
00:39:18 Talking Pokemon Conquest with a Pokemon Fan
00:56:57 Roundtable: Nintendo Sales and a Digital Future
01:25:33 Listener Feedback: Digital or Retail and Gaming with Us
01:46:56 Conclusion
01:48:47 Credits
01:50:36 Total Length
Links
Bahahah! Evan, I could have sworn you were rapping when the music started after the feedback! You were right on the rhythm and everything!
Anyhoo, I think we all agree that Metroid: Other M was a big risk. But has anyone ever noticed that Nintendo often takes risks and makes major changes on their second installments of major franchises? Super Mario Bros. 2, Zelda II, Metroid II, Star Fox 2 (It was basically a 3D tank game, without the flying Star Fox was known for), all of which made big changes to what was already a tried and true formula. This carries on into more recent times, if you put 3D games into a league of their own. The second 3D Zelda, Majora’s Mask, the second 3D Mario, Super Mario Sunshine, and the second 3D Metroid, Metroid Prime 2, all made decisions that divided the fan base in a large way (Time constraints, FLUDD, and high difficulty, respectively). And don’t even get me started on the 2nd 3D Star Fox. Pikmin 2 also similarly changed Pikmin’s dynamic in a way that many fans of the original Pikmin didn’t like. And in almost all of these cases, a 3rd installment brought the franchises back full circle, returning to the gameplay conventions established in the first installment. Pikmin 3 is already confirmed to be sticking to the original Pikmin’s gameplay conventions, as opposed to building off of Pikmin 2. Super Metroid, Link to the Past, and Mario 3 all returned to the gameplay the originals were known for. Wind Waker may kind of throw a monkey wrench in this, but reviewers still noted that Wind Waker’s controls, gameplay, and design were still more reminiscent of Ocarina of Time than Majora’s Mask.
So why is it that Nintendo seems to have never heard of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”? There is a difference between innovating on gameplay and all out changing the way a game works. In some cases (Zelda II, especially), I was originally hard pressed to tell what franchise the game even belonged to when looking at screenshots.
Then again, it seems like Nintendo is NOW embracing “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” to a fault. Four consecutive New Super Mario Bros. games where little seems to be changing, two very similar Galaxy games in a row, and Pokemon Black and White 2 are starting to make me miss when Nintendo would shake things up every once in a while.
Maybe the problem is the rise of gaming press. Especially during the NES era, risks could be taken with gameplay and the only way negative feedback would reach you is by word of mouth (since there was no way Nintendo Power was going to bash Zelda II or Mario 2). Otherwise, regardless of what the game was actually like, people would buy something just because the word “Zelda” was on the box and they liked the first one. Nowadays, someone may be interested in something like Other M, but after 6 months of coverage, they start to see that the game isn’t the faithful Super Metroid II that they’d always wanted and decide to pass on the game without even trying it for themselves. I was guilty of this when Other M launched. Also, I really wanted to get Smash Bros., so when Other M kind of flubbed with critics, I went witht the more sure thing.
Argh! Another quick comment morphed into a long discertation. Bonus points for a random change of opinion halfway through!
I think you are extremely correct regarding the media/internet’s impact on new game ideas.
Everyone claims they want new things, but they don’t. When they get new things they COMPLAIN like crazy. What people want is merely a change the represents EXACTLY the ideal version of the game in their head. Which is just about impossible.
So, we get evolutions in drips and drabs. But, hey, the games are still awesome, so … I’ll take it =)
PS – Other M was awesome, in my opinion. But it was tougher to enjoy due to all the outside whining.
You guys made mention of a community for Mario Kart, Kid Icarus, and Resident Evil, however, the obvious pick for me is Heroes of Ruin. I would love to get some friend codes and maybe even set up a weekly HoR gaming night.
i just finished the heros or ruin demo while the demo sucked i will still get it the prolem with the demo is that it cuts you off before you get to the meat of the game i feel once i can have more than 2 moves i will have more fu btw how much more do you need to know about pokemon conquest before you decide wether or not to buy it do you realy want me to type up a review and post it here because i stop short of just that.
@Acelcarus Yeah, the Heroes of Ruin demo isn’t an accurate depiction of the final, overall product. I wasn’t impressed with the demo either at first, but decided to pick up the game regardless, and I am glad I did. It really is a title with a ton of content and a lot to offer despite it’s shortcomings. Plus, it’s online component is pretty robust for a 3DS game. For that reason alone, I want to support the title in order to show the devs that there IS a spot in the handheld market for games with deep, multiplayer-driven experiences.
Another excellent episode, you two. Here are my 2 cents, one for each of you.
1. Pokemon is awesome. I would love to see more online/social capabilities for the games but on the whole they are super enjoyable. It was adorable hearing you two giving your best shot to talk about the series. It was like when old folks try to explain facebook or something =)
2. I have not played either game, but mark me down for the camp that believes Rhythm Thief looks much more enjoyable than Theatrythm. I ordered RT just the other day. It should be arriving in a few Earth rotations. I did play/thoroughly enjoy the demo though. So I can’t wait for the game to arrive!
3. I think Other M is a fantastic game. It’s my favorite Metroid of all time and I’ve played all the flagship titles.
People who freaked out over the “sexism” just wanted something to get upset about and saw what they wanted to see.
After all, my boy Luigi wets his pants every time he sees a Goomba. But no one seems to think Miyamoto is sexist.
Sorry for the delay, but the Nintendo Heartcast community in Mario Kart 7 is: 10-3508-7487-6976.
When’s a good time to play some rounds?
ok i added the heartcast channel dont worry about me im free for a while
No Need for Friend Codes
In the Heartcast, you said that we have to have added you and you added us in order to hook up and play Mario Kart 7 on Monday, August 27th at 9:30pm EST. However, because we have the Nintendo Heartcast Mario Kart 7 Community (10-3508-7487-6976), we should be able to simply hop into the community and play without any farther complications. Or, were you planning on having everyone connect directly via Friend Codes and skipping the community altogether?
Let’s put the community to good use. I have already added the Heartcast Community to my game, but I tend to only exchange Friend Codes with friends and family that I have played with locally. The community feature is a perfect solution for those of us who are still a bit wary about giving out our precious Friend Codes. Perhaps after a few rounds of Mario Kart 7, I will be more inclined to exchange codes so I can play the other games that don’t have the community feature.