MIXED BAG. UNBOX-KING #25 MARIO MAKER & AMIIBO WAVE 5B!

Today was a great day for Amiibo collecting! I thought it would be scary, I thought I would be having to shop online, and I thought I was gonna miss out on many amiibos-- I was wrong! I only had to go to Target and Toys R Us and I got all of the Wave 5B amiibos I wanted. I also picked up Mario Maker. I want the rest of the Smash Bros. amiibo, Shovel Knight and Tom Nook. Which amiibos do you want to see/collect?

BONUS: MARIO MYTHS w/ SHIGERU MIYAMOTO!

WORD OF THE DAY! 4/14/15!

Today's definition is about The United States Fair Use Law which, thanks mostly to the music industry but also television, movies, and video games, is something that, as a citizen of the internet, is good to know:

According to and expressed by the letter of the law in The Copyright Act of 1976, "the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or photo records or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include:

1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors."

Nintendo has recently been having Youtube flag and take down videos that contain content related to their software under the idea of protecting their IPs, intellectual property, from being misrepresented or exploited. Usually, game companies leave reviewers and other content creators alone, in these matters, because they act as free advertising-- whether or not the content represents the work in a way they like-- and having the content removed is bad press. But, as Nintendo can do what they're doing on youtube's site as a venue, it is difficult to foresee these policies changing without Nintendo deciding to relax.

The real question? Why is Nintendo suddenly taking such a destructive interest in their fanbase and what action can be taken to make them realize the error of their ways?

Can't we all be buddies again, drive around and drink orange mocha frappuccinos, and then have a gasoline fight?

MUSIC MON! A CHALLENGER APPROACHES! DUNKEY WEO WEOS INTO THE RING! MARIO... BEWARE!

OLD SUPER MARIO.

First up, we've got an comic by Daiki Sugimoto put to music, called Old Super Mario.

The work presented is highly stylized but manages to illicit wistful and regret ridden emotion with each panel. The story is a simple one. Two brothers, one girl. Flash forward. An old and lonely Mario gets a chance to be there for the princess one last time.

Fin.

VIDEOGAMEDUNKEY- I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!

Apparently, in this animated music video for Dunkey's "I'm Going to Kill You", by Magnivez and
Ryanimation , Dunkey thinks Mario needs to be put out to pasture.

For a very cynical series of videos by dunkey, check out his Super Mario 64 series.

SUPER MARIO 3D LAND THEME  

VS. 

SUPER MARIO 3D WORLD THEME

Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario 3D World are my favorite Mario games since Super Mario Galaxy. To be completely honest, while my heart will always have a special place for Super Mario World, I am a much bigger fan of the 3D platformers in the series (sans Super Mario Sunshine) and Super Mario Galaxy 1 (or maybe 2?) is probably my favorite 3D platformer.

I love Super Mario 3D World so much that my friend snagged my this amazing Super Mario 3D World display piece (pictured above).

One of the elements that make the last two Mario games in the series stand out are the incredibly catchy tunes that mix elements of jazz and big band music in with the orchestral work of the Galaxy series.

My question, for you guys, is which main theme is better?

WORD OF THE DAY! 6/17/14!

NINTENDO E3 DIGITAL EVENT! (2014)

hype train [hahyp-trehyn]
noun
1. A slang term used to describe the high level of anticipation surrounding an upcoming release of a popular media franchise or an announcement of a new project, especially for video games, movies and TV series. In the video gaming community, the term may be used in a positive light to express one’s excitement, or conversely, to convey disappointment at a product that fails to meet high expectations.

EX, Well, I've been aboard the Nintendo hype train since Mario Kart 8 reestablished my trust in Nintendo's ability to provide a unique and fun experience that, as far as I know, none of their competitors can provide. My friends really came around on the Wii-U and we've been playing it every weekend. On the flipside, I have had to set aside time to play my Xbox 360 backlog (currently playing Dishonored) and haven't played PS3 since I beat Uncharted 3 last year (yes, I need to play the Last of Us). Nintendo Wii-U might be my sole current gen console for a good while...

...and so, I anticipated the Nintendo E3 digital event with a good bit of hype behind it. After all, the Wii-U will be a two year old console when Smash Bros Wii-U comes out and Nintendo needs to really sell the console to gamers and, perhaps an even more difficult battle, figure out how to market the console to the casual market. I think it is depressing that so many people do not understand that the Wii-U is a completely separate device from the Wii. It is an HD console that plays Wii and Wii-U games and provides the funnest living room experience in the market.

And what did I think of their conference?

They really hit the mark with a funny, refreshing, and genuine conference that even Dunkey's cynical butt seemed to enjoy. They don't try to sell the audience any apps or make any promises about cloud gaming. Instead, they just show the audience about forty five minutes of pure games.

Super Smash Bros. for the Wii-U/3DS, Yoshi's Wooly World, Captain Toad Treasure Tracker, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, Hyrule Warriors, a new Zelda, a new Starfox, Mario Maker, Bayonetta 2, Mario Part 10, Xenoblade Chronicles, Splatoon, and more...

The next year is gonna be awesome.

NINTENDO AMIIBO TRAILER!

The only non-game announcement, technically, were the Ammibos. This is Nintendo's take on the Skylander and Disney Infinity figurine craze and all I gotta say is... FINALLY! I've been saying Nintendo should do this for a while, since rumors first popped up about this, because it is a clear license to print money! I want to be able to put my favorite Nintendo characters in my favorite Nintendo games (Pikachu in Mario Kart please) and will be collecting these! I've been looking for an excuse to collect figurines and these are pretty nice.

I think Nintendo won (if that is even a thing). Still, expect to hear about the rest of the games I liked from the other conferences later this week. Just know I'm glad I own a Wii-U right now.

I would watch the entire digital event, or at least the first thirteen minutes because it has a robot chicken sketch and some amazing smash bros news, but I put down some highlights below for your viewing convenience.

SUPER SMASH BROS MII ANNOUNCEMENT!

SUPER SMASH BROS: GODDESS OF LIGHT ANNOUNCEMENT!

SUPER SMASH BROS: PACMAN ANNOUNCEMENT!

SUPER SMASH BROS INVITATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS!

MARIO PARTY 10 TRAILER!

HYRULE WARRIORS TRAILER!

 P.S. I went to a Smash Fest event, at a Best Buy, last Wednesday and, after waiting in line for an hour and a half, I got to play Super Smash Bros. on the Wii-U... for four minutes. I got to play two rounds, one as Greninja, who is super fast, and one who is Pikachu, who plays very similarly to Brawl, and I gotta say that the wait was worth it. I got to stand in line with a couple hundred Nintendo fans, talk about games, take some fun pictures, cheer at the smashes landed, and get even more hyped to play this gorgeous looking game.

Seriously, if Mario Kart isn't a reason to buy a Wii-U, Smash Bros definitely fits the bill.

WORD OF THE DAY! 12/6/12.

penguin [pin-gwin]
noun
1. A large flightless seabird of the southern hemisphere, with black upper parts and white underparts and wings developed into flippers for swimming under water.

EX. Maybe Super Mario 64 is what taught me my hatred of penguins...

Also, been replaying Super Mario 64, and I would still argue it is a classic. Maybe, I'll review it soon... Definitely expect a review of Aladdin (SNES) this weekend.

MUSICAL MONDAY! SUPER MARIO LAND W/ LYRICS!

MUSICAL MONDAY PRESENTS

SUPER MARIO LAND W/ LYRICS!

Today's Musical Monday is a brentalfloss and featuring Dave Bulmer is about a video game that I have a rather personal and nostalgic relationship. In many ways, Super Mario Land is one of the lost Mario games; it was 1989 and Nintendo's handheld Game Boy console was a new piece of hardware. I hadn't even been born when this game came out, but the Game Boy and several cartridges (including the equally important Tetris & Tetris II) were the first video games my Dad bought in the names of, someday, being able to share it with his son. And it was the first console I think I ever played and I played it a lot.

Road trips, which we took a lot of between visiting my grandparents in TN and moving every two years or so, were quite common in my childhood. I used to carry around a backpack full of books, but the entertainment I remember most fondly was my Game Boy. Super Mario Land was rather special as it was probably my default game (after Tetris II) and I can remember having to ask adults to help me figure out harder parts of the game.

The colors were shades of green and black, it was hard to see the screen in the sunlight, and it weighed about 3/4s of a pound when I had the rechargable battery pack plugged into the back of the sucker. It was the first console I ever really had, the first console I ever had to play Pokemon on, and it will always have a special place in my heart. When you consider the fact that I didn't get a Color Game Boy until about 1999-2000 (I remember it was when they rolled out Pokemon Gold/Silver), you can understand how the only portable console I had for ten years would leave a very serious impression on me when compared to modern portables which get new iterations every twelve months...(I'm looking at you 3DS XL)

3DS XL PROVOKES VIOLENCE W/ ZAN

MIXED BAG. THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: SKYWARD SWORD 25th Anniv. Collector's Edition REVIEW!

MIXED BAG. REVIEW OF 

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: SKYWARD SWORD

+

25th Anniv. Collector's Edition

By Sean Barnes

Developer: Nintendo

System: Wii (Released Nov. 2011)

Genre: Action-Adventure

NERD CULTURE SMACKDOWN! I LOVE LEGEND OF ZELDA! PT. 2

11 Specific Reasons I Love The Legend of Zelda 6-1

CLICK HERE FOR PT. 1 (11-7)

6. BEING THE HERO OF TIME

At number six, we're getting a wee bit personal and a wee bit interesting. The reason that the series is called "Legend of Zelda" rather than "Legend of Link" is that, besides in the TV series and CD-I games, Link is just the default name of the hero of time. In fact, as far back as I can remember, at least as far back as Link to the Past, which is the only game with a pink-haired Link, you can pick a name for your hero. I usually name my characters Sean, Imple, or Imple Jr.

Anywho, the cool thing about being the hero of time is that you get to go on this big adventure, explore this big world, wield the Master Sword and other awesome gear (will get back to the gear in a second). Wielding the Master Sword is especially cool, whether it be from the ability to shoot lasers in the early titles, or in the latest title being used with wii motion plus to give you the closest thing to a sword fight you could experience in a video game.

MIYAMOTO SHOWING OFF SKYWARD SWORD E3 2010

WORD OF THE DAY! 11/29/11

LOLdwell.com

chronology [kruh-nol-uh-jee]
noun
1. the sequential order in which past events occur.
2. a statement of sequential order.
3. the science of arranging time in periods and ascertaining the dates and historical order of past events.
4. a reference work ordered in accordance to dates.

EX. Few video game mysteries are more elusive than the order that Nintendo's Legend of Zelda games take place in time. There are several chronological theories, including a split-time theory starting with Ocarina of Time, but Shigeru Miyamoto, the series creator, has been rather mum about the exact timeline. Some people accept that there is no cohesive timeline but we can only hope that future Nintendologists can discover the true chronology.