R.I.P. Satoru Iwata

I had a different post, about a game that's sure to interest at least a few folks who frequent this blog but is far from important (especially in grand scheme of things), all lined up to be published today, but then I heard that Satoru Iwata, who has served as Nintendo's president since 2002, had passed away.

In light of that sad, shocking news, I decided to move things around a bit and instead publish this too-brief post about the man who has, along with Shigeru Miyamoto, personified Nintendo for the last 10 to 15 years.

All that's known about Iwata's untimely passing at the moment is what the company shared in a simple note on its Japanese website last night:



"Nintendo Co., Ltd. deeply regrets to announce that President Satoru Iwata passed away on July 11, 2015 due to a bile duct growth."

Iwata's career in the gaming world began long before he took the reins at Nintendo, of course. First he worked for HAL Laboratory and helped produce titles like Balloon Fight, Hoshi no Kirby (Kirby's Adventure) and EarthBound.



In 1993, 10 years after Iwata started at the Tokyo-based Nintendo affiliate, he was named its president.

Seven years later, he joined Nintendo to head up its corporate planning division, and in 2002, Iwata succeeded Hiroshi Yamauchi in the company's corner office.

With all of that said, I'd just like to reiterate the message that makes up this post's headline: rest in peace, Mr. Iwata. You will be missed, and you will be remembered.

The first thing I did when I turned on my gold Pokémon Center 3DS LL was ...

You might think that the first thing I'd do after getting my new gold Pokémon Center 3DS LL up and running would be to boot up Pokémon X.

In reality, my first move was to head to the Japanese eShop and download the following:

First up was Darumeshi Sports Store, a Japan-only (just for now, I hope) eShop game that reportedly was developed by the same folks who brought the world the Rhythm Tengoku and WarioWare series. Although Darumeshi Sports Store follows in the footsteps of those titles in some ways--at its heart, it's a wacky mini-game collection--in other ways it stands on its own, such as by basing all of its mini-games on the sport of baseball.



Next was Balloon Fight GB, above, a game I'm pretty sure I've mentioned here on at least a few occasions. If not, it's the colorized version of Balloon Fight's sort-of sequel, Balloon Kid, which didn't hit Japan until a decade after everyone else in the world got it (and even then it only received a digital release).

Finally, there's the Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai 2 demo--which, sadly, has yet to be played. I've been looking forward to experiencing this adorable rhythm game for ages, though, so I can guarantee it won't sit unused on my LL's menu screen for long.

Don't worry, I've also put in some time with Pokémon X and even Sayonara Umihara Kawase--a game I bought a while ago but couldn't get to until now.

Although they'll be undeniably "late to the party," look for impressions of both games to be shared here in the coming days.

I'd kill for a copy of Minna no Balloon Fight (if it were a real Famicom game)

See the cartridge and packaging in the following photo? They're not of a real Famicom game, sadly. Instead, they're the products of the fertile imagination of the Ribbon Black blog's Nightmare Bruce.

Although I initially wanted to strangle Bruce after coming across these creations--because, really, who wouldn't kill (or at least consider doing so) to experience a four-player "battle royal" version of Nintendo's arcade and console classic?--but eventually I got over my Balloon Fight rage and decided I was happy someone not only came up with such an idea but was able to follow through with it and concoct the box and cart seen below.



To see more photos of Minna no Balloon Fight's box and cart--and even a blurry screenshot of this faux Famicom game--head on over to the Ribbon Black blog at your earliest convenience.

Oh, and if you've like to see a handful of (also fake) screens that don't look like they've been covered in Vaseline, check out this post on Nightmare Bruce's simply AWFUL tumblog.

Mimi's Adventures in Miminton (or, yes, I'm obsessed with Animal Crossing once again)

So, I'm playing Animal Crossing again. No, not the Japanese version of New Leaf (I wish!). And, no, not City Folk or Wild World, either. Instead, I'm playing the original one--or, rather, the first one to make its way to North America--for the first time in many, many years.

I'm having such a blast with it that, well, I thought I'd snap some photos of my playthrough and share them here. Consider yourself warned, though, that the images shared in this and subsequent posts were made from photos taken of my TV. You heard that right--no fancy-shmancy screen-capturing technology at work here, no sirree. As such, some (all) of them are sure to look a little funky. Sorry in advance.

With that said, why don't I introduce you to my main Animal Crossing character? (Yes, that means I have more than one.) Her name's Mimi and here's a glimpse of her in her Harvest Festival-themed home on her birthday--which took place just after Thanksgiving, by the way:

Note the three NESes sitting around. Mimi actually obtained one of them (Donkey Kong) from a neighbor on her birthday, while the others (Balloon Fight and Pinball) were acquired via the village's black market. (Shhhhh!)

This next shot shows Mimi interacting with one of her Miminton (named in honor of the fabulous Japan-only Wii title, Captain Rainbow) neighbors--almost all of whom are bitchy, it has to be said.

At least the follicley freaky Freckles, above, has a nice thing to say once in a while. The same can't be said of Vladimir, below, who surely has never met someone with whom he couldn't find fault. Still, Mimi can't help but like the ol' sourpuss.

OK, so I caught Tangy in an off moment in the photo below. Thankfully, she's pretty darn peppy most of the time--or maybe I should say "she used to be pretty darn peppy," as she and her orange noggin are now sweetly harassing the fine folk of some other Animal Crossing burgh.

Welp, it seems I'll be buying Nintendo Land should it be sold separately from the Wii U

That's because this launch-window release for Nintendo's next console will feature a Balloon Fight-based mini-game that uses an art style similar to that of Kirby's Epic Yarn and that can be played solo (as opposed to pretty much every other Nintendo Land mini-game unveiled so far, save "Donkey Kong's Crash Course").

To see it in action, head on over to gameinformer.com and watch the trailer that was uploaded yesterday afternoon.



Will this mini-game, called "Balloon Trip Breeze," also contain a multi-player mode? The folks at Game Informer don't seem to know, unfortunately. Personally, I hope it does--despite the fact that it's likely I'll be playing Nintendo Land (and practically every other Wii U game I purchase) all by myself.

See also: 'Welp, it seems I'll be buying a 3DS XL a bit sooner than I initially thought I would'

The Great Gaymathon Review #57: Balloon Kid (GameBoy)

Game: Balloon Kid

Genre: Platformer

Developer: Pax Softnica

Publisher: Nintendo

System: GameBoy

Release date: 1990

Last week, I published a little write-up (read it here) on this game's Famicom-based kinda-sorta remake, Hello Kitty World. I'm sure some will say it's overkill to review the original so soon afterward, but that's not how I see it. Instead, I'm thinking of this "Great Gaymathon" review as being the blogging equivalent of "striking while the iron's hot"--as in, why not chat about Balloon Kid while Hello Kitty World's still fresh in your brains?

Anyway, enough about that. You're probably wondering what sets this breezy release (you can beat its eight stages in an hour or two, if you're skilled enough) apart from its console-based follow-up. There aren't as many differentiators as you might think, to tell you the truth. The most obvious ones: 1) Balloon Kid stars a wee lass named Annie as opposed to Hello Kitty, 2) Annie's goal is to save her kid brother Jim while Kitty-chan has to rescue some Sanrio character named Tippy, 3) the GameBoy title is a black-and-white affair while the Famicom one is in full color, and 4) although the camera is zoomed-out in Hello Kitty World, it's much closer to the action in Balloon Kid.

Every other aspect of these auto-scrolling platformers is pretty similar. Both buck tradition and progress from right to left. Their plucky protagonists use balloons rather than their legs to move around as well as to avoid enemies--which include bees, penguins and, er, walking campfires. Enjoyably creative boss fights pop up every other stage whether you're playing Hello Kitty World or Balloon Kid. (Speaking of this game's stages, although most are thematically clichéd, a couple are surprisingly unique--with the standouts being the first and its pencil-shaped skyscrapers as well as the fourth that takes place in a wale's bowels.) These cute-as-buttons carts even share the same, Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka-sourced soundtrack.

Anyway, as I said in my earlier review, I tend to prefer Pax Softnica's effort to Character Soft's--mainly due to the GameBoy title's art style--although you really can't go wrong with either. That said, if you decide to play these games via emulation, be sure to go with the colorized, Japan-only version of Balloon Kid, known as Balloon Fight GB. It adds a pretty little map screen and the ability to save after each level to the mix.

See also: Previous 'Great Gaymathon' posts

The Great Gaymathon Review #56: Hello Kitty World (Famicom)

Game: Hello Kitty World

Genre: Platformer

Developer: Mario Co., Ltd.

Publisher: Character Soft

System: Famicom

Release date: 1992

According to this 2011 article by Wired's Chris Kohler, Hello Kitty World was made by the folks at Nintendo (under the guise of Mario Co., Ltd.--with Mario Co., Ltd. being a joint venture between the Kyoto-based gaming giant and an advertising company known as Dentsu). That makes sense on a number of levels. For starters, there's the fact that Hello Kitty World, at its heart, is a console-based re-skin of Nintendo's should-have-become-a-classic GameBoy title, Balloon Kid. Also, there's the fact that this game is as fun and polished as can be--qualities that I consider to be part and parcel of pretty much every game Nintendo's ever produced.

Beyond the fact that Hello Kitty World is a Nintendo-made title, though, why should you care about it--especially if you're normally averse to anything featuring the nauseatingly cute cat made famous by the folks at Sanrio? Let's go back to Balloon Kid, the GameBoy cart I mentioned earlier, shall we? If you've never played that 1990 release, imagine Balloon Fight's "Balloon Trip" mode turned into a multi-stage platformer. And if you've never played "Balloon Trip," well, imagine a platformer that scrolls from right to left and that features a protagonist who relies more on a pair of balloons for getting around than her own two feet.

Playing this game is as simple as can be: while on the ground (sans balloons), you can jump (with the A button) or inflate balloons (by pressing down on the d-pad). While in the air, you can control your flight by pressing left or right on the d-pad and by pressing the A button (which causes you to flap your arms and helps you gain altitude). Oh, and pressing the B button while in the air releases your balloons so you can scamper around on the ground (assuming there's any beneath you).

Although you'll spend most of your time hammering the A button while playing Hello Kitty World--so you can avoid pesky enemies and obstacles, of course--you won't want to forget about the B button, especially during the every-other-level boss fights, each of which are both easier and more enjoyable if you fly above and then dive bomb said baddies.

Given all of the above, I'm guessing all of you (or at least a few of you) are wondering if I prefer this cute and colorful console release to its portable predecessor. To be honest, I don't. I like the art style used in Balloon Kid more than the one used here, plus I'm pretty fond of Alice, the star of the GameBoy title, while I'm not much of a fan of ol' Hello Kitty. That said, both games are well worth playing, so feel free to go with whichever one superficially appeals to you most.

See also: Previous 'Great Gaymathon' posts

For the fourth game of Christmas, the UPS man brought to me ...

... a complete-in-box copy of Nintendo's Balloon Kid.

Educational aside: This GameBoy-based sequel-of-sorts to the Famicom/NES classic, Balloon Fight, was released throughout North America in 1990 and throughout Europe in 1991. For some unknown reason, it never received a proper, packaged release in Japan, although a colorized version of the game--called Balloon Fight GB--was released via the company's Nintendo Power service in 2000. 

For more information on Balloon Kid--which was produced, in part, by Gunpei Yokoi and Yoshio Sakamoto (Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka composed the game's perky soundtrack)--read these blog posts. 

See also: Previous '12 Games of Christmas' posts

Eh, I prefer the pea-soup-green version anyway

The good news: Nintendo of America added the should-have-been-a-classic GameBoy title, Balloon Kid, to the 3DS eShop earlier today.

The bad news: They added the pea-soup-green version of the game rather than the superior, colorized one that hit Japan's eShop a few weeks ago.

Granted, the colorized update of the game, called Balloon Fight GB, was a rather limited, Japan-only release--and we all know how Nintendo of America feels about those (I mean, just look at all of the import-only games that have been added to the Wii's Virtual Console service in the last few years)--but that's not much of an excuse when you realize the bulk of Balloon Fight GB is in English. (The title and map screens are the only ones that feature any Japanese.)

All that said, at least they're giving us access to some version of this pint-sized platformer, which was produced, in part, by Gunpei Yokoi and Yoshio Sakamoto. (Also, the peerless Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka composed the game's perky soundtrack.)

See also: 'I'll bet you can't guess which game I bought in the place of Xenoblade Chronicles' and 'Speaking of Balloon Kid ...'

What a shocker: Hello Kitty World's box and cart are as syrupy sweet as its in-game graphics

I wasn't on the receiving end of any tricks yesterday, but I did receive the wonderful treat seen in the photos below.

For those of you who can't read Japanese, the game that serves as the focus of said photos is Character Soft's Hello Kitty World for the Famicom.

More information on this helium-filled platformer can be found in this previous blog post, by the way.

Also, for a few more photos of Hello Kitty World's box and cartridge, check out my Flickr photostream.

Other than all of that, expect a "Great Gaymathon" review of this Japan-only title to be published in the next week or two.

The Great Gaymathon Review #41: Balloon Fight (Famicom)

Game: Balloon Fight

Genre: Platformer

Developer: Nintendo

Publisher: Nintendo

System: Famicom

Release date: 1985

What a difference a decade makes. I distinctly remember renting the North American version of this game, one of the first released for the Nintendo Entertainment System, on a few occasions as a teen, and each time I did so I turned it off after about 15 minutes wondering, "Why in the hell did I rent this again?" For some reason, the Joust-esque gameplay of its main campaign bored me back then. To tell you the truth, it still bores me today. That's not to suggest there's something wrong with that mode, mind you--it ably apes (i.e., rips off) the feel of the aforementioned Williams Entertainment arcade classic while covering up its apocalyptic aesthetic with such cheery adornments as balloons, bird masks (well, that's what they look like to me) and, uh, a big, grinning fish--but it's just not my cup of tea. What is my cup of tea, at least these days, is the game's "Balloon Trip" mode. For those of you who have never played this mode, it places players in a forced-scrolling (from left to right) stage and tasks them with avoiding sparks and collecting balloons for as long as possible. It's completely maddening, of course, but it's also completely addicting--in that "I'll just play one more round" kind of way. Another aspect of Balloon Fight that's sure to bring you back again and again: Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka's cheery, chunky, propulsive soundtrack.

See also: Previous 'Great Gaymathon' posts

Speaking of Balloon Kid ...

The colorized update of Balloon Kid, called Balloon Fight GB, floated onto the Japanese 3DS eShop a few days ago (on Oct. 19, to be exact).

For those of you who've never heard of it, Balloon Fight GB was released in 2000--ten years after Balloon Kid was released in North America--via Nintendo's Japan-only Nintendo Power service.

Balloon Fight GB is more than just Balloon Kid in color, by the way; it also added a map screen and Super Game Boy features and allowed players to save their progress.

Anyway, here's hoping Nintendo of America does the intelligent thing and releases Balloon Fight GB--and not the black-and-white (or black-and-green) original--on the North American eShop sooner rather than later.

(Via tinycartridge.com)

I'll bet you can't guess which game I bought in the place of Xenoblade Chronicles

Did you guess Hello Kitty World for the Famicom? I'll bet you didn't!

I see those side-eyes some of you are shooting in my general direction, by the way. I understand. Hello Kitty World probably seems like a strange choice for an off-the-cuff pick-up if you've never heard of the game.

Actually, I shouldn't call this purchase "off the cuff," as I've had my eye on Hello Kitty World for some time now. Still, I wasn't planning to add it to my Famicom collection anytime soon.

That changed pretty quickly, though, when I saw a complete-in-box copy of the game on eBay a few days ago. Long story short (I know, too late), I ended up getting it for a song.

Anyway, back to Hello Kitty World and why I was so keen to acquire it: Have you ever played Balloon Kid, Nintendo's Balloon Fight follow-up for the GameBoy? If not, it's a forced-scrolling platformer that hit store shelves in North America in 1990.


                                           A zoomed-in view of Hello Kitty World

The game feels a lot like a much-expanded version of Balloon Fight's "Balloon Trip" mode, to tell you the truth, as it tasks players with collecting the balloons left behind by the protagonist's kid brother (who was accidentally sent airborne while attempting to create a "balloon rainbow" that would cross the sky) while avoiding birds, fish and other obstacles that will cause her to plummet to the ground. (She grabs a couple of balloons and uses them to chase after her little bro, you see.)

Now, if you took the game described above, replaced Nintendo's characters with Sanrio's main claim to fame and then re-released it as a Famciom cart, you'd have Hello Kitty World.

My interest in said game makes sense now, doesn't it? If not, please take a minute to watch this video (which shows both Balloon Kid and Hello Kitty World in action).

As for Xenoblade Chronicles: Don't worry, I still plan to pick up a copy of this highly regarded Wii title--although I likely won't do so until after my birthday. In the meantime, I guess I'll just have to acquaint myself with the above-mentioned Character Soft creation.

A few more pieces of Famicom porn

Remember how I said (in this post) that I recently acquired copies of Baseball and Golf for the Famicom? Well, at the same time I purchased those "Pulse Line" carts I also picked up a rather beat-up copy of Nintendo's Balloon Fight.

You know what that means: More photos of Famicom boxes and cartridges struttin' their stuff on our dining room table and living room floor!

For more photos of my Famicom collection, check out this Flickr set.

The Great Gaymathon Review #18: Tingle's Balloon Fight (DS)

Game: Tingle's Balloon Fight

Genre: Action

Developer: Vanpool

Publisher: Nintendo

System: Nintendo DS

Release date: 2007

I don't know what caused the powers that be at Nintendo of Japan to green-light a Tingle-focused remake--featuring spruced-up, 16-bit-esque graphics--of the Famicom/NES classic Balloon Fight, but I certainly hope whatever it was happens again. Sure, the content of this Japanese Club Nintendo release--which consists of the same "Balloon Fight" and "Balloon Trip" modes as its 8-bit predecessor, along with a gallery of concept art--is as thin as the DS cart on which it's delivered, but it provides players with more than enough enjoyment to make it worth picking up if they're Balloon Fight or Tingle fans. (It's currently going for as little as $29 on eBay, by the way.) The only negative associated with this Vanpool-developed game, other than its lack of depth: Spreading the action over the DS' two screens seems to sap it of a bit of the drama and excitement that's all too present in Yoshio Sakamoto's original effort.

See also: Previous 'Great Gaymathon' posts

Tingle's Ice Climber

In early 2007, Nintendo of Japan released a Club Nintendo-exclusive game called Tingle's Balloon Fight. It's basically a re-skinned version of one of the company's classic Famicom/NES titles--starring that odd Legend of Zelda character, Tingle, rather than the nameless, titular "Balloon Fighters" of the original, of course.

I played a bit of Tingle's Balloon Fight while on vacation last week. The experience took my mind to some crazy places. Case in point: The following doodle--of Tingle in Ice Climber drag.

Two similar drawings can be seen in my deviantart gallery and in my Flickr photostream.

Wouldn't it be cool if Nintendo released a bunch of these re-imaginings? Along with a Tingle's Ice Climber, they could make a Tingle's Wrecking Crew, for instance, or even a Super Tingle Bros. Hmm, I think I now know the subject of my next few doodles.

In my dreams: Nintendo would remake Balloon Kid

I'm not usually one to beg for remakes, but that doesn't mean I'm completely opposed to them. For instance, I'd really like to see the able folks at Nintendo release an updated version--for, say, the Wii--of the GameBoy classic, Balloon Kid.

For those of you who have, sadly, never experienced this Balloon Fight sequel, here's the lowdown: It's a flying platformer that was developed by Pax Softnica (yeah, I've never heard of the company before either) and published and released, in Europe and North America, by Nintendo in 1990 and 1991, respectively.



What in the heck is a "flying platformer," you ask? Well, it's a platformer--think Super Mario Bros.--that calls on players to navigate the game's many stages using balloons à la Balloon Fight. Balloon Kid turns the genre on its ear in few other ways, too, such as by forcing gamers to move from right to left rather than left to right and by making the protagonist a girl (Alice) who is out to save a boy (her little brother, Jim).

As for how I'd like Nintendo's developers to remake this gem of a game: In my dreams, they'd make it look like it was drawn with colored pencils--the game kicks off in Pencilvania, after all--à la the masterful Yoshi's Island.

I know the likelihood of either of the above happening is somewhere between slim and none, but I'll hold out hope anyway.

See also: 'Balloon fightin' kid to the rescue!' (at geozeldadude.wordpress.com)

Another reason to add WarioWare: D.I.Y. to your DS wish list

It has a Mario Paint-esque music creator/editor! How did I not know that until yesterday, when I read this post over at tinycartridge.com?

Oh, and it's not just any music creator/editor--it's a Balloon Fight-themed music creator/editor, as evidenced in this YouTube clip:



WarioWare: D.I.Y. will hit store shelves in North America on either March 29 or May 31, by the way. (Although most sources say it'll be released on the former date, Amazon.com says it'll be released on the latter.)

See also: 'More evidence that WarioWare D.I.Y. is going to be awesomely magnificent'

Balloon Fighter: 'The Fred Flintstone to the Joust knight’s Ralph Kramden'

If you haven't been paying attention to the game character "profiles" that have been posted to gamespite.net in the past month or so, get your posterior over there right now and start reading through them.

My favorite so far focuses on Balloon Fight's pixelated protagonist.

For starters, writer Bob Mackey lists the following as one of Balloon Fighter's strengths: "Can honestly say he just flew in from L.A. and boy are his arms tired." (I know, I have a horrible sense of humor.)

And then there's the author's explanation as to why the brass at Nintendo haven't given Balloon Fighter a second shot at gaming stardom.

"In the few additions to the Balloon Fight franchise, Balloon Fighter didn’t even make the cut; first he was replaced by a little girl in the overlooked Game Boy sequel, then by pan-sexual man-thing Tingle in a Japanese Club Nintendo exclusive remake," Mackey writes. "What you hear is the sound of karma catching up with a character who entered this world as a shameless ripoff to begin with."