Friday, June 04, 2010

The wonderful world of Working Designs

So, I've spent the last few evenings flipping through my old TurboPlay magazines, and while doing so a number of Working Designs ads have caught my attention.

I thought I'd post three of them here, just in case some of you are TurboGrafx-16 (or Working Designs) fans, too.

This rather horrific ad was supposed to promote one of the system's rare RPG releases, Cosmic Fantasy 2:


The following ad, for Exile: Wicked Phenomenon, is a bit better, at least in my opinion.


There's little to complain about in this Parasol Stars ad--unless, of course, you hate parasols and rainbows and, er, anthropomorphic slot machines.


See also: 'PC Engine porn'

Thursday, June 03, 2010

I think I'll stick with the arcade version

Hardcore Donkey Kong fans will either be delighted or disgusted to hear that a cartoonish remake of the arcade (and NES) classic has hit the Web courtesy of coder Mick Farrow.


After spending a few minutes with said remake, I wouldn't put myself in either of the aforementioned camps (delighted or disgusted). If anything, I'd consider myself disinterested.

Sure, there's not much to complain about in Farrow's remake--aside from the iffy jumping--but there's not much to cheer about, either, as the arcade original's controls, graphics, music and sound effects were and are, in my opinion, darn near perfect as is.

Anyway, head on over to the Retro Remake forums ASAP if you want to give it a go, as it'll likely be squashed like the girders beneath Donkey Kong's formidable feet as soon as the folks at Nintendo hear about it.

(Via gamesetwatch.com)

'Z is for Zelda'

Artist Carlos Ramos recently shared the following image--created, he says, "a million years ago"--on his tumblr site.


Oh, and don't bother giving him a hard time about the fact that the focus of the drawing isn't, in fact, Zelda. In a note that accompanies the image he says, "Yes, I know it’s Link--but ‘L is for Link’ wasn’t as catchy."

(Via boingboing.net)

I think I'm going to faint

OK, so I'm being a bit dramatic. Still, I wouldn't consider fainting to be an altogether inappropriate reaction to the following image, would you?



By the way, the image--titled "Melty Monster Galaxy"--was created by the fabulously talented artist, hiimdaisy. Check out more of her stuff at hiimdaisy.livejournal.com and peachifruit.deviantart.com.

(Via tinycartridge.com)

I'd rather watch this than Prince of Persia

Of course, that's not really saying much.



"A brother dies. A challenge arises. A friendship is forged. And so it begins."

You know, I think it's entirely possible that Tetris: The Movie features better writing than the aforementioned Jake Gyllenhaal star vehicle.

See also: '8-bit invasion'

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Nintendo shows its hand (literally)

Nintendo of Japan will soon return to its roots by releasing a series of Mario-themed playing cards.

The Kyoto-based company, which began life (in 1889) as a producer of hanafuda cards, will start selling the "Mario Trump" cards in July for ¥1,050 (approximately $11.50) per set.


Three different designs will be available from the get-go: "Dot" (featuring Mario et al in sprite form), "standard" (Mario et al in hand-drawn form) and "neon" (Mario et al in 3D form).

For a closer look at each design, check out andriasang.com.

Mizubaku Daibouken = Bubble Bobble 4?

At least, that's what the editors of TurboPlay magazine suggested all the way back in 1992--just before Taito's Mizubaku Diabouken (aka Liquid Kids) hit the streets in Japan.




My initial reaction to that suggestion was something along the lines of "nuh uh!"--but after giving it some consideration my reaction has softened a bit.

After all, the series' other (actual) entries--Bubble BobbleRainbow Islands and Parasol Stars--don't share enemies, protagonists, settings or weapons, so why would part four--with its waterbomb-wielding platypus--be any different?

All that said, Mizubaku Daibouken isn't, as far as I can tell, officially called chapter four of the Bubble Bobble saga--although I suppose that may have been something the game's creators considered early on.

Life+ Interrupted

In early 2009 (or, more likely, in late 2008), someone who goes by the name Pastel started working on a "thematically organized, largely nonlinear Metroidvania" game called Life+.

According to Pastel, the game is "more similar to Doki Doki Panic/Super Mario Bros. 2 than anything else, [as] the combat involves ripping up chunks of floor and hurling them at enemies and obstacles. You can pluck certain projectiles out of the air, stand on some particular enemies and rip them asunder, and stuff like that. When you pull up a tile, its constitution depends on what you're standing on and your luck. If what you're standing on is too thick, you won't be able to pull it up until you find a strength building powerup."

A year and a half later, Life+ remains a work in progress. Thankfully, interested gamers can keep tabs on that progress by visiting the Life+ Update Blog now and then.

In the meantime, check out this "video test," which shows off the game's Cave Story-esque graphics and Doki Doki Panic-ish gameplay:



Oh, and if you're at all interested in learning more about Life+, this blog post is a good place to start.

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

'I'd hit that'

I know it's kind of juvenile, but I get a kick out of this t-shirt:



If I had my druthers the shirt would feature the actual Super Mario Bros. sprite, but it's doubtful I'd buy it anyway so I guess I shouldn't complain.

Buy: "I'd hit that"

Monday, May 31, 2010

I think the coast is clear ...

Well, I haven't had to deny any SPAM-ish comments for a few days, so I'm going to switch my settings back to the way they were a week or so ago -- which means comments will no longer need to be approved. Yay!

See also: 'Spam, sausage, spam, spam, spam, bacon, spam, tomato and spam'

Sunday, May 30, 2010

5 things I love about 'Link's Barrel Beat'

If you've yet to see "Link's Barrel Beat," click on this, er, link. (Don't worry, it's suitable for work.)

Anyway, now that we're all on the same page, here are my five favorite things about Jenjamik's freaky, Wind Waker-inspired Flash video:

1. Tingle's shade-sporting cameo.
2. The face red Link makes whenever he contributes to the "tune."
3. The face all three Links make whenever Tingle arrives on the scene. (See below.)


4. Tetra's "WTF?" glare.
5. Gonzo's exploding noggin.

(Via doyoulovepuppiesido.blogspot.com)