Rediscovering Nintendo + Quick Thoughts

I've recently found myself with some interest in playing some of Nintendo’s greatest hits or just most beloved games. Having pretty much ignored most of the Gamecube, Wii, and N64 catalogue of Nintendo games in the time of their release, mostly because of a non-interest at the time. But having played the rerelease of an old Nintendo classic Ocarina of Time for the 3DS has re-sparked an interest in the games so many people love and hold such affinity towards. I decided to educate myself in the games I missed either because of unawareness at the time or in the Wii’s case a sort of cynicism towards Nintendo’s unaltered love for releasing the same games on new consoles again and again. Below I will give my before and after thoughts on the games I play in this venture I take myself on. *Check back often as I will update this article with more impressions*

Starting this list off is the first starring vehicle for a long time sidekick, Luigi, with Luigi’s Mansion. A launch title for the Gamecube most people probably played it at some point. As did I, my cousin hated this game and I remember him showing me the game, and thinking “wow that looks boring”. So years later I picked up Luigi’s Mansion for $10 and started playing and I was way off with my childhood assessment of the game. Luigi’s Mansion is odd; it’s not at all a traditional Mario title for one you can’t jump, there aren’t multiple varied levels, nor is Bowser the main antagonist. Instead Luigi’s Mansion is in essence a Ghostbusters game, equipped with a heavy duty vacuum cleaner, its Luigis job to clean the mansion up of all ghosts and find out where Mario is.

The gameplay comes down really to only one feature, which is the wrangling of ghosts, first you must surprise the ghosts by flashing your flashlight in their face then start sucking, while holding the “C” stick in the opposite direction, after a few seconds you’ve captured the ghosts. The Mansion itself hides tons of ghosts and it’s your job to solve the puzzle that unleashes the ghosts and then get to capturing, that's all Luigi’s Mansion really does. Aesthetically the game looks great even now, the level of detail in the Mansion along with the interactive objects like sheets that sway and move depending on your vacuum position add neat touches. The lighting effects of your flashlight bouncing through the house and casting shadows looks incredible even with the existence of Alan Wake. The number of great animations Luigi is given makes it seem like a game developed yesterday, it’s actually pretty impressive, the way he reacts to absolutely ever noise and movement while he trembles and tip toes through the house.

Final Verdict – I love this game it is simplistic and repetitive but its unique, while I don’t think I will complete it, at least not anytime soon, it’s a cute game, that makes me sad Luigi always plays second banana to Mario. I am now really looking forward to the sequel coming to the 3DS sometime next year.

Next on the docket is Pikmin a game that has a huge fan base and yet is still one of Nintendo least known properties,which I would have to guess is because of its bizarre setting, look, and over game play. Pikmin is a strategy puzzle game, wherein you play as Olimar a alien who has crash landed on an unknown planet and has 30 days to repair his ship before his space suit runs out of air. 

Olimar is tiny, smaller than a bottle-cap and while getting his barrings he discovers an even smaller species of creature which he calls Pikmin these little plant like things take a liking to Olimar and he uses them to start repairing his ship. The entire game revolves around guiding these Pikmin in mass to accomplish certain things, and its this gathering of Pikmin and traversing of the environments that is the core of the game. In one instance you will need 20 Pikmin to lift and carry an engine part back to the ship, but first you need to find more Pikmin and cross several obstacles including antagonistic creatures and environmental manipulation. The stress comes from the constant timer that only allots you several minutes to explore the environments and gather the things you need before nights comes and the next day starts. The one actually difficult thing in this game is this constant timer, forcing you to stick to a plan and only strive to get ship parts.

Final Verdict - Pikmin is fun and my kind of game, its absolutely unprecedented looks is hugely appealing. But the one thing I cant stand in modern video games is time related objectives, its the reason i cant fully endorse Dead Rising, the time pressure forces you to not enjoy the game, as you run through things just to get the objective. Pikmin is something I may come back to, but will defiantly never complete.

Next up is Donkey Kong Country Returns, a classic Nintendo characters goes back to the series that gave him his notoriety. While Donkey Kong himself has been stuck in weird bongo peripheral based games and air racing games for a little more then a decade at this point, and only ever guest starring in other popular Nintendo games like Super Smash Bros. Its great to finally see the old school 2D side scrolling Donkey Kong return in grand fashion. The game itself is unbelievably fun for such a simple side scrolling platformer. Returns also sports some of the best visuals on the Wii with intricately designed levels and character models that animate and emote so well its like watching a really expensive animated movie, it just looks cool. The developers also have some fun in certain levels by adding a unique visual style, one particular flair has a beautiful sunset glaring in the background causing everything to appear as silhouettes expect Kong's tie which glows bright red, it looks awesome. 

The gameplay is about as simple as you can imagine, and actually allows you to spin the Wii remote on its side and play it like and old school Nintendo game with a d-pad and 2 buttons. There are some waggle controls, used mostly to interact with the environment including breaking rocks, blowing out fires, and rolling across the level. Diddy Kong continues to provide backup and when a second player jumps in, Diddy actually becomes a very different character, control wise, with jetpacks and dual peanut shooting pistols. Its old school fun, the way only Nintendo knows how to do.

Final Verdict - Donkey Kong is so far my favorite of the games I've played in this endeavor and i can see myself playing through it and even going for some of the hidden stuff. Its a lot of fun, surprisingly difficult and yet a ton of fun. Traversing the environments and having to constantly learn how to defeat the onslaught of new enemies keeps the game interesting and engaging. I highly recommend Donkey Kong Country Returns.

After a lucky find at the miserable slow to die failure that is Blockbuster, Punch Out is the game I'm taking a look at next. Right of the bat, Punch Out is the most surreal experience yet in my little Nintendo experiment because well, its kind of just Punch Out, like 1987 NES Punch Out. I mean looking back I don't really know what i was expecting but man, this is the most old school homage yet. There are basically no options or any real depth, you fight in 3 tiers slowly raising up the ladder as you continue to fight harder opponents. I feel like Nintendo got away with murder here, because while they spend countless time and effort modernizing and taking risks reinventing most of their core brands, like Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong and Metroid. Punch Out is the same as it was 25 years ago but even more strange than that, is that it still kicks ass.

Punch Out plays like the boxing mini-game in the Wii console pack-in title Wii Sports where you swing and move with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk you can even stand on the Balance Board to add more complexity But all that is BULLSHIT, since you can spin that Wii Remote on its side and play it exactly like the original NES game and its way better this way, faster and more precise, its the only way you're going to be able to beat King Hippo or Mr.Sandman. Punch Out is simple, it all boils down to pattern memorization, knowing when to dodge and when to strike depending on your opponents actions. All the fighters telegraph their punches so you know what to do, the challenge becomes responding fast enough to take advantage of every opening. Speaking of the fighters every character in this game is so well drawn in this 2D/3D hybrid its crazy, to see Bald Bull squint and quench his jaw before you lay a punishing haymaker into his bald head for just a
tenth of a second before it lands is truly impressive.

Final Verdict- Punch Out is cool, its so old school the fights between characters from the original NES game can be beaten the EXACT SAME WAY. Its the biggest surprise Nintendo probably could have ever hoped for, a franchise with fond memories but not a fan base to speak of,  re-released exactly the same way, with incredibly expressive character art, and viola an instant hit brought to from 1987. I enjoyed Punch-Out, while their isn't much on offer its fun and nostalgic in all the right ways.