Nintendophiles 01.24.08

Posted by Theo Fraser on 01.24.2008

An unprecedented 44 playable characters are rumored to be lined up in Super Smash Bros Brawl, and the photographic evidence is inside! That’s the big story this week, but don’t miss the other features on Wii Music and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed!





Quick, I gotta play Resident Evil 4 or something. Something manly, anything! This is the trouble with being a drama student. The girls are all hot, but good Lord I have to put up with all the soppy shit to get anywhere. I've just been dragged along to see PS I Love You at the local cinema, and suffice to say I think I've lost a couple hundred Man Points in the process. Now, OK, I cried a teeny weeny little bit during the film (it's a heartbreaking story, alright?!), but still, what do these women expect from me? By next week I'll probably be spouting poetry...

This week sees the release of No More Heroes in the US, and you all know by now how much I love it, so please make me a happy Nintendophile and go buy it. Original games are few and far between these days in the gaming market, so games like this deserve to be snapped up in an instant. Whilst you're there, get Zack & Wiki!!



Wii Music takes center stage
Credit: Cubed3

Since it was shown as a tech demo at E3 in 2006, we've seen relatively very little of Wii Music, but fresh details have just emerged, revealing exactly how you'll play the game.

Nintendo have promised that there will be around 40 instruments at your disposal, but the full list has yet to be revealed. What we do know now though is that each instrument will control differently, even with regard to the way you hold the Wii remote. For example, when playing the trumpet, you'll actually simulate the actions/gestures you would use when playing a real trumpet, tilting the remote upwards for high notes and downwards for low notes, combining with button presses for different keys. Similarly, you'll pluck guitar strings by holding down the C button on the nunchuk and shaking the nunchuk as you strum. According to reports, both single notes and chords can be played. Sounds like a lot of fun to me, although you'll probably want to play with the curtains drawn as you're bound to look like an absolute dick.

We still don't have a firm idea of the range of music you'll be able to jam to; obviously, classic Nintendo themes will be available, but it is unknown at this point if classical tunes will still be on offer, as they were back when the title was first demoed. Personally, I'd be happy with just a range of Nintendo themes, as long as it was an extensive list. Super Smash Bros. Brawl has a massive variety of songs included; if these could be put into Wii Music, I'd be in musical heaven. Of course, I'd imagine some popular classical music will make it into the game so as to appeal to the non-gamers out there, who probably couldn't care less about the Nintendo themes and are likely to be unfamiliar with them (although, really, who out there has never heard the Mario "dodo-do-dodo-do-doooo" riff? Seriously).

Multiplayer is shaping up to be a bundle of laughs, as up to 4 players can join in to fill up the 6 person band, whilst the CPU takes on the remaining characters. I can just imagine a room full of people doing all these different combinations and gestures with the Wii remote as they attempt to play their on-screen instrument.

The game is set to ship later this year, with no real firm date set just yet. Soon I'd really like to get my hands on a list of all the available instruments and a potential song list, and it would be nice to see some of the other game modes, if there are any, just so we can judge how much longevity there will be. Wii Music is certainly a promising package; we'll just need to see it in more depth to come to a proper conclusion as to whether or not it's worth the cash.




Star Wars: The Force Unleashed not quite what we had hoped for?
Credit: Game Informer

Well this is incredibly disappointing, I must say. Lucas Arts have crushed Star Wars fanboys' dreams of proper Wii-mote wielding lightsaber battles, as it turns out that Star Wars: The Force Unleashed will not employ a 1:1 gesture recognition system. In fact, by the sounds of it, the only motion control we'll be receiving is with the Force Powers on offer, such as Force Push and Sith Lightning. Whilst that'll no doubt be fun in itself, it certainly doesn't reach the ideas and hopes of grandeur we had about awesome lightsaber duels.

I'm also slightly concerned due to the fact that the Lucas Arts press releases seem to be focusing very heavily on the new technology in the game, which looks to set new standards for destructive scenery and interactive environments. Put simply, Crysis doesn't even hold a candle to the physics in this game. Wood will bend or break, depending on the amount of weight put on it and on which part, for example. Obviously that's tremendous, and I'd usually be mega hyped up about it...except for the fact that it's based on an X360/PS3 engine. We have no idea what we'll be receiving on the Wii, and how "dumbed-down" it will have to be, if at all.

Nevertheless, despite this quibbles, there is a lot to look forward to. The ability to combine Force Powers is simply too awesome for words; I need to see it in action, baby! Think about hurling your foe into the air, holding him there with Force Grip and then sending shockwaves coursing through his veins with a little Sith Lightning treatment. Add to that the fact that you'll be pulling it off with various Wii remote tugs, twists and pushes, and you have an immensely fun combat system in the pipeline. Yes, the lack of 1:1 lightsaber dueling is a disappointment, and I'm still not convinced Wii owners will get the total package that Xbox 360 and PS3 owners have been promised, but this still has the chance to be a must-buy game, and certainly the best Star Wars title to come along since the original Rogue Squadron. Which was fantastic, by the way.




Smash Bros leak: 44 playable characters?!
Credit: Game On Nintendo

Wow, what a massive leak this is if this turns out to be true. Yes, this is still firmly in the ‘rumor' section, but it's too good to pass up. Below is a screenshot of the supposed Character Select screen for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which if it proves to be accurate, confirms that there will be a whopping 44 playable characters to choose from. Quite a considerable amount considering the fact that Nintendo have only confirmed 25 so far. Check it out below, and apologies for its relatively small size. That's all that appears to be available at the moment.





So let's break it all down. What new characters do we have here?

• Baby Bowser


• Midna


• Ganondorf (not new to the series, but previously unconfirmed for Brawl)


• Young Link (in cel-shaded Phantom Hourglass style?)


• King K. Rool (from the Donkey Kong series)


• Ridley (from Metroid)


• Indistinguishable- also could be from Metroid universe


• Lucario


• Jigglypuff (again, not new to the series but previously unconfirmed )


• Mewtwo


• Wolf O'Donnell (Starfox villain from the Starwolf Team)


• Krystal


• Ashley (from WarioWare)


• Indistinguishable- from the Fire Emblem series?


• Marth (again, not new, but unconfirmed)


• Dr Game & Watch (not new but unconfirmed )


• Deathborn (Captain Falcon's arch nemesis in F Zero titles)


• Ness (not new, but unconfirmed)


• Indistinguishable

Veeeery interesting. Now let's take a look at its credibility. First of all, it's not completely outlandish. There's no Cloud from FF7, no Dante from Devil May Cry, no Master Chief (and trust me, I've seen faked character selection screens before with those names on them!). These are all very viable contenders. The weakest would probably be Ashley from the WarioWare games, as she hasn't had a very expansive career, shall we say, and I wouldn't have a clue what kind of special moves she'd do. An odd choice, for sure. Also there's the fact that her portrait picture still looks 2D animated. As opposed to the other characters (and, most notably, all the ones officially confirmed by Nintendo), which have 3D portraits using their in-game character models. Hmmm...

On the other hand, think about all those rumors last year of possible inclusions, and see how many of them make the list. Krystal is a great example of this. Krystal was heavily rumored a while back when the voice actress who played her in Starfox Adventures listed Super Smash Bros. Brawl on her online voice-over CV. Earlier this week, new rumors were found saying that Jigglypuff and Ness would return alongside newbie Lucario. Lo and behold, each of these characters are included in this screen.

Massive hoax? Or have Nintendo really been hiding this from us all this time? Fakes are usually found out extraordinarily quickly, and if it is, I'd expect to hear very promptly, maybe even by the time you read this. What I will say is, don't rely on what Nintendo say. They always refuse to comment on this sort of speculation, and if they were hiding this, they'll likely want it kept that way until they're good and ready to tell us. For our sake, I sure hope we don't have to wait too long.




SEGA Superstar Tennis trailer

SEGA Superstar Tennis was unveiled towards the end of last year, and here is the first official trailer to go along with the announcement. It's most likely the opening intro, but it's pretty snazzy nonetheless. I'm convinced this is from the Xbox 360 version, although no one else has said anything. We'll see...

Anyway, check it out for an idea of what to expect. If they don't go power-up crazy like Mario Power Tennis, it could be pretty good.

SEGA Superstars Tennis - First trailerUploaded by aussienintendocom

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