Nintendo Unveils 25th Anniversary Mario Logo, Will Release Super Mario All-Stars on Wii in Japan
Super Mario Bros., the game that launched a million side-scrollers, is coming up on its 25th birthday. The game first came out in Japan September 13, 1985, and hit the United States in March of 1986. Nintendo is preparing for the celebration with a trademark representing the game's 25th anniversary. It's only been registered in Japan, and Nintendo of America hasn't made any announcements yet, but it looks like the company is getting ready for some sort of 25th birthday celebration.
One thing's for certain: a little over a month after the game's birthday, Super Mario All-Stars will finally hit the Wii. Unfortunately, it looks like it's going to be a Japan-only release in the form of a retail game. According to Siliconera, the "Super Mario Collection Special Pack" will hit stores in Japan on October 21 with a retail price of 2500 yen (about $30). Besides the game collection (which includes Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2 USA (the reskinned version of Doki Doki Panic we all grew up with), Super Mario Bros. 2 JP (better known in America as "Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels"), and Super Mario Bros. 3), the pack will come with a soundtrack CD including music ranging from Super Mario Bros. to Super Mario Galaxy 2, and a booklet going over Mario's history from 1985 to now.
Mario's side-scrolling debut in America has its 25th anniversary next March, so while nothing has been confirmed by Nintendo of America, there's still a chance we might see a similar release in the Spring.
Will GreenwaldTuesday’s Trope: Giant Space Flea From Nowhere
[Tuesday's Trope is a weekly department highlighting an amusing video game trope from TVTropes. Aggrogate is not affiliated with TVTropes.org in any way. All trope examples come from TVTropes and are shared via the Creative Commons license.]
Boss fights don't have to make sense. Sure, sometimes you'll fight a crime lord, an alien overlord, or an evil wizard that fits in with the narrative of the game you're playing, but just as often you're probably going to run across a mutant cake, a robot dinosaur, or a Giant Space Flea from Nowhere.
What is the Giant Space Flea from Nowhere? It's supposed to be the embodiment of all evil in the world. Some say its father was the main character's long-lost friend. Nobody believed it was real. Nobody ever saw it or knew anybody that ever worked directly for it, but to hear the cutscene tell it, anybody could have worked for it. You never knew. That was its power. The greatest trick the GSFN ever pulled was convincing the world it didn't exist. And like that, poof. It's gone.
The GSFN is any boss that just doesn't make sense. It appears out of nowhere, forces you to fight it, and then vanishes without a word. In some games, it turns out to be the final boss, just because the guy you were chasing the entire game didn't seem big or interesting enough. It just shows up, looking for a fight.
Examples of Giant Space Fleas from Nowhere include:
Will GreenwaldArtists Recording In Simlish for Sims 3 Late Night
"Simlish" is the official language of The Sims. It's what Sims speak instead of English, and it's going to be the language of choice for over two dozen pop, hip-hop, and alternative artists in The Sims 3 Late Night
I'd honestly take offense at this, if anyone of the music was good. Fortunately, the tracks are all from autotuned pop bands with z's in their names, or guys like Souja Boy or My Chemical Romance. Incidentally, My Chemical Romance uses lyrics that are far too interesting and violent for the quality of music. They sound like a bunch of wussy douchebags, so why do they keep talking about things like murder and poison? Bah, kids these days. Let me know if George Fisher or Glen Benton re-record any of their bands' songs in Simlish.
Will GreenwaldReminder: Castle Crashers Giveaway Ends Midnight Tomorrow!
There's just a day and a half left to enter the first Aggrogate giveaway! We're giving away a Castle Crashers King figurine (an exclusive you can't buy from The Behemoth!), along with various other Castle Crashers swag. Just send us an email with your favorite Castle Crashers character/weapon/animal orb combination and explain why! The giveaway ends at 12:00 a.m. on September 8, and we'll announce a winner soon after that.
Will GreenwaldFriday Flashback: Shadow Warrior
Considering all the hype surrounding the surprise revelation at PAX that Duke Nukem Forever will be completed and published in 2011, and that Gearbox will be doing the deed, it's time we look at a certain FPS game. It's a game with an in-your face hero, who runs around different levels and uses tons of weapons to reduce his enemies to bloody chunks, all while making funny quips while he does it. It's a game where you can find naked or almost naked ladies in various places. It's a game made by 3D Realms.
That's right, I'm talking about Shadow Warrior.
Will GreenwaldXbox 360 Gets A New, Silver Controller With Transforming D-Pad
The Xbox 360 is getting a new wireless controller with a clever and unexpected gimmick. A few days ago, Major Nelson unveiled a new, silver gamepad with a morphing direction pad. By twisting the controller's d-pad, you can transform it from a directional disc to a four-way pad. In disc mode, the pad is suited for sweeping gestures, while in four-way mode (with the diagonal bits receded into the controller), it's better for games that only use the cardinal directions.
It seems to be a premium accessory, and won't be included pack-in with any Xbox 360 yet. According to Microsoft, the controller with a play-and-charge kit will retail for $65. That's pretty steep, just for a silver finish and shifting d-pad. If you really need the cardinal directions and arcade-style control, you might want to consider getting a MadCatz
Starcraft 2 Review: The RTS King is Back
Blizzard released the first Starcraft
After playing the game for a few weeks, I can safely say that, barring a miracle or a catastrophe, there's a very good chance we'll be playing Starcraft 2 well into the next decade. For any other series this would be gross hyperbole, but for Starcraft this is simply a confirmation of the series' already well-established quality and longevity.
Will GreenwaldCanon Shows Off Augmented Reality Gaming, Makes Chris Look Silly
I cover a lot of different consumer technology products, and they all usually have their own groups of brands. You don't expect Nintendo to go into HDTVs, you don't expect LG to go into digital cameras, and you don't expect Canon to go into futuristic video games. However, when I attended the CanonEXPO yesterday, that last option is exactly what I saw. Tucked into a corner of the expo was a video game demonstration kiosk for Canon's "Mixed Reality" system. It's a little bit virtual reality, a little bit Playstation Move, and a whole lot of looking like a character from The Lawnmower Man.
Chris and I were invited to play a "game" where we created a cartoon character in virtual reality, using head-mounted displays to watch our creations float before our eyes while we manipulate them with our hands. I sat down and held the display over my eyes, keeping it aligned so I could see through the virtual glasses. They were almost completely clear, but could show computer-generated images on top of the regular view thanks to a small screen and a prism.
Will GreenwaldFrom the Game: Castle Crashers King (plus the first Aggrogate Giveaway!)
The Behemoth's fast-paced, cartoonish, insane beat-em-up Castle Crashers has finally hit PSN after over to years of being XBLA-only, and to commemorate the release the developer sent us The King. This figurine is 4 inches of regal, screaming, beardy rage. Find out how you can get your mitts on him after the bump.
Will GreenwaldTuesday’s Trope: Lethal Joke Character
[Tuesday's Trope is a weekly department highlighting an amusing video game trope from TVTropes. Aggrogate is not affiliated with TVTropes.org in any way. All trope examples come from TVTropes and are shared via the Creative Commons license.]
Almost every fighting game has a character nobody wants to play because he's too weak, too strange, or too useless. That same character inevitably turns out to be completely unstoppable in the right hands. They might be extremely difficult to master, but once you figure out how to take advantage of their unique abilities they're absolute monsters in the ring. They are Lethal Joke Characters.
Tournament fighters aren't the only games to have lethal joke characters. Many RPGs feature seldom-used characters that can be grinded or equipped properly to turn them into invincible killing machines. Blue mages in Final Fantasy games are often lethal joke characters, because it's so difficult to get their best abilities. If you can expose them to just the right magics, though, they easily become the most powerful members of your party.
Examples of lethal joke characters include:
Will Greenwald
Help support Aggrogate! Visit the Aggroshop or buy any item on Amazon linked on this site to keep things going.
Navigation
Recent Posts
- The Story’s Not Over Yet. Square-Enix Announces Dissidia Duodecim: Final Fantasy
- Irrational discusses Columbia, BioShock Infinite’s city
- Nintendo Unveils 25th Anniversary Mario Logo, Will Release Super Mario All-Stars on Wii in Japan
- Tuesday’s Trope: Giant Space Flea From Nowhere
- Artists Recording In Simlish for Sims 3 Late Night
Recent Comments
- Ikara on Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep Not “Go”ing On PSN
- Dee Sawyer on The Story’s Not Over Yet. Square-Enix Announces Dissidia Duodecim: Final Fantasy
- Will Greenwald on The Story’s Not Over Yet. Square-Enix Announces Dissidia Duodecim: Final Fantasy
- Palmer on Xbox 360 Gets A New, Silver Controller With Transforming D-Pad
- Steve on Friday Flashback: Shadow Warrior
Blogroll
Archives
- September 2010 (23)
- August 2010 (74)
- July 2010 (59)
- June 2010 (101)
- May 2010 (62)
- April 2010 (48)
- March 2010 (58)