Gaming History You Should Know: The Story of Super Mario Bros 2 July 16, 2015
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I make it no secret that the first video game I’ve ever played was Super Mario Bros on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Really, do I need to say anything about this game? It is one of the greatest games ever made, has one of the most iconic theme songs that even non gamers can hum to themselves, and was responsible for resurrecting the entire video game industry in the US.
While I enjoyed the game a ton, I have to admit I never picked up a copy of its western sequel, Super Mario Bros 2. In fact, I can’t really remember many of my friends talking about that game at school, nor do I remember a lot of my friends admitting to playing it. What I do remember is a phenomenal reception for the release of the third Mario title, Super Mario Bros 3, and I got my parents to get me my own copy of that game after I played it at a cousin’s house.
When I finally did play Super Mario Bros 2 at a friend’s house, I was extremely disappointed. It felt nothing like a Mario title. Years later while I was watching a documentary about the Super Mario franchise on G4 (back when it was a legitimate video game centric channel) I found out the reason why the game was so different was because the version of SMB2 released in the west wasn’t a Super Mario game at all, but a Japanese game which came to the west with Mario characters swapped into it. It turned out the original game released in Japan as Super Mario Bros 2 was deemed too difficult for a western release, and Nintendo decided it would not be a good idea to release it outside of Japan, despite it being a true Super Mario sequel.
Years later, the west would finally get the original Super Mario Bros 2 released on the SNES as part of the Super Mario All Stars compilation game, where it was titled The Lost Levels and released with updated graphics. It wouldn’t be until some time after Nintendo launched the Virtual Console digital download service for the original SMB2 to get a western release with its original graphics.
Why did Nintendo make the decision not to release Super Mario Bros 2 in the west and instead take an unrelated game and release it over in the west with Mario characters? Well, I know someone who has that answer. The Gaming Historian is a YouTube content creator with an amazing channel focusing on obscure gaming information.
If you ever wanted to know what the full story was about this game, give this great video a watch.
Rest in Peace, Satoru Iwata July 13, 2015
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It is with a heavy heart that I must announce that the President of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, died suddenly this past weekend.
Mr. Iwata had been involved with Nintendo’s game development for years before he would be named its President. He fondly admitted contributing to games like the NES classic Balloon Fight, a game which would become one of the first native Virtual Console games released on the Wii U. He also assisted with the development of the SNES cult classic Earthbound (Mother 2), a game so beloved that independent documentaries have been produced detailing the impact this game has had on its fans.
I first became familiar with Mr. Iwata from his regular appearances in his company’s Nintendo Direct videos. It was always nice to see him introduce the videos which would outline to fans all the great games that Nintendo was producing for their platforms.
Nintendo of America has announced that due to Mr. Iwata’s passing, they will not be producing any new updates on their social media accounts for the rest of the day out of respect.
Rest in Peace, good sir.
The Last Guardian E3 2015 Trailer June 15, 2015
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To kick off their E3 2015 Press Event, Sony started off with a Big Bang. A game that Sony loyalists had believed was dead for many years now has returned and it is coming on an all new platform. If you loved ICO or Shadow of the Colossus, this is for you.
The Last Guardian is coming exclusively to PS4 in 2016.
Final Fantasy VII Remake Announced June 15, 2015
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Ladies and gentelmen, the game that Final Fantasy fans have wanted Square Enix to release for the past nine years…is in development.
Final Fantasy VII Remake is coming first to PS4.
Gaming History You Should Know: The Pokemon Trading Figure Game June 3, 2015
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Lets face it, everyone has heard of Pokémon. Since the original Pokémon games launched in the late 90s, the franchise has become a gaming powerhouse with tons of commercial tie ins. For the past fifteen years we’ve seen Pokémon prominantly featured in animated movies, trading cards, posters, toys, and a long running animated television show.
But did you know that in the late 2000s, there were plans to create an all new way to play Pokémon with competitive figurines? That’s right. YouTube celebrity TheJWittz, who many know fondly for his Pokémon Fact of the Day series, reminisces about the history of this short lived game.
Gaming History You Should Know: Atari’s SwordQuest Contest May 20, 2015
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With all the recent talk about Nintendo’s upcoming World Championship series and the ongoing success of electronic gaming competitions all over the world, I want to talk a little bit about one of the first true gaming championship contests that I can think of. In the early 1980s, Atari ruled the video game industry and they were planing an epic contest unlike anything that has been seen since to give back to their die hard fans. This is the story of the SwordQuest games. Four exclusive games were planned for release on the Atari 2800, with each one themed around the four basic elements. A contest was planned to be held for each game’s release, and the winner of each one would receive a special prize. These prizes weren’t simple trinkets, these were incredibly elaborate items constructed of precious metals and stones. Five prizes were produced, with four to be handed out to the winner of each game contest, and the fifth prize would be given to the top winner among the four. Unfortunately, Atari’s future crashed right in the middle of the contest, and its status was thrown into question.
James Rolfe, who you may know better under his alias, The Angry Video Game Nerd, produced an incredible video about Atari’s $150,000 SwordQuest game series. If you wanted to know what was involved in one of the most epic plans in the history of competitive gaming, give it a watch.
The true bearer of that Sword still has yet to be named.
May the Fourth Be With You – Some Jerk With a Camera Reviews Star Tours May 4, 2015
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Tony Goldmark, also known on the Internet as Some Jerk With a Camera, is a legendary online personality who reviews theme park rides. When I say review I don’t mean he goes on a ride and then writes about it, Tony will shoot a complex scripted review at a multitude of planned locations…while at the theme parks. His reviews are incredible!
One of his early reviews was of the original Star Tours ride shortly before it was replaced with a new version. Joined by two of his friends, The Wire of The Idiot’s Lantern and Spazzmaster, they wanted to see if the ride was still as good as we all remembered. You can watch the whole review here.
By the time he started his second season of reviews, the newly renovated Star Tours: The Adventure Continues ride relaunched in the Disney Parks, and Tony wanted to see if the updated ride was as good as the original. This review is in two parts, you can watch part 1 here and part 2 here.
I have to say that I was lucky enough to ride the original version of Star Tours four times. The first time I rode it was in 1994 at the Disney/MGM Studios in Walt Disney World, several months before I watched the original Star Wars films for the first time. When I got to ride it during my first trip to Disneyland in 1996 I was a full fledged Star Wars fan. My last ride in the original version was at the now renamed Disney’s Hollywood Studios some time around 2007, shortly before the ride’s renovations. I’ve never had the chance to ride the new version of Star Tours, but I really appreciated hearing Tony’s remarks about it.
What’s coming up next for Tony? He’s going to be reviewing The Simpsons Ride.
May The Fourth Be With You – The Angry Video Game Nerd Reviews Star Wars Games May 4, 2015
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James Rolfe, better known to the internet as The Angry Video Game Nerd, is one of the most popular video game reviewers on the entire internet. His ability to analyze awful video games for the original Nintendo, Super Nintendo and Atari consoles, coupled with his ability to use…colorful words to describe the rage he feels while playing these awful games, made him an online sensation.
A few years ago, The Angry Video Game Nerd did review several of the original video games produced with the Star Wars license, and gave his thoughts on them. Just be aware, there may be some colorful language used so, you might not want to watch this at work with your speakers cranked up. Enjoy.
As a post script to this review, I have to give props to a more recent video James did with his friend Mike, where they tried to win the Nintendo 64 classic Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire. Shadows of the Empire was a notoriously difficult game, especially on the Nintendo 64, and this video series needs to be seen to believed.
If you enjoyed these videos, make sure to check out Cinemassacre.com or The Angry Video Game Nerd’s Official YouTube Channel!
Gaming History You Should Know – The Nuon April 28, 2015
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Everyone remembers the utter failure of the Atari Jaguar from back in the mid-90s but I bet a lot of you had no idea that the Jaguar actually had a spiritual successor nobody remembers. That’s right, the Jaguar’s developers got back together and created an entirely new gaming system exclusively for licensed DVD Players, the Nuon. What is the Nuon? I’ll let Rerez fill you in on all the details.
What is really disappointing about this is that the idea behind the Nuon could have worked better if only it had been integrated into DVD Player hardware sooner. DVD Players, while expensive at launch, sold like crazy due to the incredible picture quality (for the time) and extra features that they offered consumers. In the year 2000, $350 US for a standalone DVD Player was not considered an unreasonable price, and because DVD was getting a huge positive response from consumers since its launch, people would have happily paid that price if it was for one of the first DVD players. Unfortunately, by the year 2001, 20th Century Fox had already released most of their most popular films (like Fight Club and X-Men) on DVD and it was far too soon for them to consider creating entirely new discs for the Nuon. It makes a little bit of business sense that Fox chose to integrate Nuon features into new DVD releases for films they were planning to release anyway, although it seems fate wasn’t kind to the Nuon for the four films 20th Century Fox had lined up for Nuon exclusive features were huge critical and theatrical flops.
If you ask me what the biggest shame out of the whole Nuon story is, I would say that it would have to be the world’s ignorance to the game Tempest 3000, which would never see a rerelease on a more popular console. To this day, not many people know it even exists, and that’s a shame since it could have been a huge selling point for the Nuon hardware. Given Atari’s recent legal issues with Tempest 2000’s creators I doubt this game will ever get another release. A true shame.
Quantum Break Delayed to 2016 April 2, 2015
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It is with a heavy heart I have to inform you that Quantum Break, the very first game announced for the Xbox One and my most anticipated title for the platform by far, has been delayed until 2016.
Quantum Break is being developed by Remedy, the same studio responsible for Alan Wake and the first two Max Payne games. It combines a third person action game with a branching live action television show. The game is also going to feature an all new never before seen gameplay mechanic in the form of time powers.
Quantum Break is coming in 2016 exclusively to the Xbox One.
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