Tag Archives: SNES

Former Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi Has Died

Nikkei has reported that Hiroshi Yamauchi has passed away. Known for his no-nonsense style of business at Nintendo, he turned the company around from making just playing cards and other gambling games to creating videogames. He demanded perfection in the videogames his company made.

He was responsible for many of the gears that set in motion what made Nintendo a household name to this day. He brought on Gunpei Yokoi, who went on to create the Game & Watch and Game Boy line of handhelds. He tasked Minoru Arakawa, his son-in-law, to handle the North American branch of Nintendo and to sell arcade units in the region. When that didn’t work well, he looked to Shigeru Miyamoto, who made the arcade hit Donkey Kong. Come the NES days, he realized that artists are just as important to making games as technicians were. If a game was to be made on the NES, he got the final say on its appearance on the console. Many credit the NES, and the presence of Super Mario Bros. on the system, for saving the North Amercian videogame market after the Great Videogame Crash of 1983.

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Nintendo Ad Campaigns Retrospective [2013 Edition]

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[New to this edition is the addition of the Wii U campaign. Much of what was written from the previous edition is largely unchanged, save for some grammatical corrections that might’ve slipped by. Some parts might also have more info added. So sit back, relax, and read on.]

You have an idea for a product. You make the product. And now it’s time to sell the product. So what’s the one thing you’ll do to sell your product? Advertise it of course. This is pretty much the pattern that most product makers follow. In the game industry it’s no different. With catchy slogans, flashy graphics, and some off-the-wall shenanigans, an ad is supposed to convince you to buy the product they are selling. But ignoring all of the attempts to sell and actually looking at the ad, they always seem to be a product of the era that they were released in. So for this retrospective, we’re going to look at one of the longest living game companies, Nintendo, from when we played with power, to when we played it loud, to two guys asking us if Wii would like to play, to what we will play next.

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Retro Weekends – Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

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Super Mario RPG

During my Livejournal days, I remember talking about this game when this segment was still called Retro Gaming Weekends. However, the way it was brought up was very out of place, out of nowhere, and very last minute. While I mentioned Mario’s 25th anniversary in the initial article, it still feels like I didn’t give it proper thought. So I’m bringing it back here to give it the proper attention it deserves. But why am I giving it this much attention? Well, it holds a very special place in my gaming heart, and for nearly a decade has held the #1 spot in my Favorite Games of All Time list. While many games have come and gone — some being better admittedly than Super Mario RPG— they never had the level of impact this game had on my gaming habits and preferences. So sit back and get ready to take turns as on this Holiday Edition of Retro Weekends, we’ll look back at my #1 game of all time, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.

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Original Donkey Kong Country Trilogy Games To Be Removed From Virtual Console After Thanksgiving

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In the midst of all the hoopla surrounding the launch of the Wii U comes a silent announcement that starting on November 25th, 2012, Donkey Kong Country 1, 2, and 3 will be removed from the Wii’s Virtual Console. News of this came first from Nintendo Life from Twitter user NintenDaan who received a notice on the Wii Shop Channel. It states, “Hello, We would like to let you know you that the following titles will become unavailable for purchase on 25/11/12: Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Country 2, Donkey Kong Country 3.” There was no prior warning as to why these titles were being pulled. Initially it seemed to only affect Europe. But it’s been confirmed that NA’s Virtual Console will also be lacking the Kongs.

There are already questions swirling if it has something to do with Rare being the original developers of these games. For those people who believe this, go here. It’s kinda sad to see these apes go. Without ’em on the VC, I wouldn’t have been able to play DKC 1 again after it bit the dust in my childhood. Or play DKC 2, the one game that’s eluded me for an extremely long time. Yeah yeah there’s emulators, but it’s nothing compared to actually playing these on a TV screen. If you haven’t played these games yet and have no plans to get the original carts, buy these three now before November 25th. If you have them still, hold on tight to them. And be sure your little Pikmin friends transfer those games safely to your shiny new Wii U if you get one!

Donkey Kong Country Games To Be Removed From Wii Virtual Console [gamrConnect]

Donkey Kong Country Trilogy To Be Pulled From Wii Virtual Console [Nintendo Life]

The Wired Fish Podcast S3 – Episode 5

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On this episode of The Wired Fish Podcast, we talk about Zynga’s stock troubles and the fad of Facebook/Social Gaming. Next, was talk about some of the memories we had gaming in our youth. And finally, we talk about how far G4 has fallen.

Time-Table of Contents after the break.

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Watch Dancing Mad Played On A Real Grand Pipe Organ

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A couple of years ago, I was wondering if anyone ever bothered trying to do videogame music on a pipe organ. It took a while, but I managed to find one person that did just that. Posted back in 2009, someone by the username of DrRolde covered some song with his churches Grand Organ. Of course, since Dancing Mad was done with the SNES pipe organ sound, it was only a matter of time before he covered it.

I’ll just shut up now. Have a listen. It’s amazing. (and yes, he forgot the notes at one point and played the Fugue. Pretty hilarious.)

Final Fantasy VI – Dancing Mad – on Grand Organ [Youtube]

Night-Time Listenings Wrap-Up: Week of 5/21/12

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Recognize that image up there? If not, well, you’ll see after the break. So then, you already know my problems with staying awake around 10PM sometimes, so I won’t be going over that again. But that game me a chance to pick two songs that night. Songs from a game tied to a team of multicolored super heroes.

Remember to like and subscribe to our Facebook page to get updates from TWF, and to see the music posted without waiting for these wrap-ups.

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Retro Weekends – Mega Man X

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Sorry for the lack of a Retro Weekend last week. Admittedly, I couldn’t think of another old fighting game to talk about that I played (since most of them I had little time with). But now, I’ve got something. Four actually for the month of Mega March. Yep, this month is all about Mega Man. What games will they be? Well, you’ll have to tune in every week to find out. But if you want to know ahead of time, remember to check out our Facebook page. We give updates on what we got planned next sometimes. But enough of the tangents. Onward to the first game of Mega March: Mega Man X!

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Nintendo Ad Campaigns Retrospective

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[This retrospective has been updated to include new info, broken videos restored, and the addition of the Wii U campaign. If you wish to see it, click here.]

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Retro Weekends – Killer Instinct

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Welcome to Fighting February! This month, we’ll be covering four retro fighting games. As they say, what’s love without pain. So sit back, relax, grab a loved one, and promptly break up because you’re being a cheap-ass with the hadoukens. Trust us, it’ll make us feel less lonely

The year is 1994. The fighting game craze is in full swing with Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, King of Fighters, and many others are duking it out for the most quarters and carts at home. While the more niche enthusiasts of fighting games had a plethora to choose from, the mainstream crowd sided with either Street Fighter II or Mortal Kombat. Nintendo, and by extension Rareware, saw this as an opportunity to jump into the fray. With a new console on the horizon and some sick-ass hardware to work with now, Rare was ready to level the playing field and offer a viable third option for players looking for that Killer Instinct.

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Retro Weekends – Mortal Kombat

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Welcome to Fighting February! This month, we’ll be covering four retro fighting games. As they say, what’s love without pain. So sit back, relax, grab a loved one, and promptly break up because you’re being a cheap-ass with the hadoukens. Trust us, it’ll make us feel less lonely

Since the beginning, videogames have been a relatively bloodless affair. There were some excursions in shameless debauchery, one major unchecked headshot, and a journey through a pulsating heart. But overall even the most down to earth games saw no blood spilling on the pavement. Even Street Fighter II, a game about beating the living shit outta your opponent, relegated the blood to the losing fighter’s portraits. But then one company thought that maybe that blood should come to the forefront of battle. And before you knew it, everyone’s hands were soaked in digital blood. After the break, Fighting February continues with the original Mortal Kombat.

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Retro Weekends – Street Fighter II

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Welcome to Fighting February! This month, we’ll be covering four retro fighting games. As they say, what’s love without pain. So sit back, relax, grab a loved one, and promptly break up because you’re being a cheap-ass with the hadoukens. Trust us, it’ll make us feel less lonely 🙂

In 2008-09, fighting games became cool again. Street Fighter IV, BlazBlue, King of Fighters, they all made big splashes on the videogame scene. They were there to tell the industry that fighting games were back after nearly a decade. Of Course there were fighting games in that span of time, like Soul Calibur II, Tekken 4, Dead of Alive 4 and Virtua Fighter 5. But it had all fallen into a niche, and only the most devoted of fighting fans were really appreciative of these games. Coming into 2012, this fighting game boom shows no signs of letting up, with Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Street Fighter X Tekken, and Skullgirls keeping that fire going. But before we do, let’s take a moment to look back at the game that started the initial boom in the 90s: Street Fighter II.

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Retro Weekends – Chrono Trigger

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I could start this article by simply saying “Classic” and be done with it, but that would be a disservice to the game. Topping many gamers’ lists of best games of all time, Chrono Trigger has stood the test of time for many generations. This was the game that tapped into the imagination of many gamers back in the 90s. It set the standard that RPGs would follow in years to come. It has been released on many platforms, ensuring that you could play this game on something you have. Let’s travel back in time and talk about Chrono Trigger.

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Retro Weekends – The Super Scope

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Before digital dismembered hands held guns aimed at cacodemons, we held the guns ourselves and aimed them at our screens. Well… fake guns anyway. The Zapper for the NES was a neat little novelty that came with the NES. The novelty did fade though, and Zapper support soon faded away. Games like Operation Wolf and The Adventures of Bayou Billy would have support, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Zapper alive. But with the SNES, Nintendo sought to make a peripheral better than the Zapper. It would be bigger, use an IR sensor in conjunction with cathode rays, and best of all, it was wireless. Ladies and gentlemen, the Super Scope after the jump.

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