Four Player Zelda Fun

In December 2002 Nintendo decided to release a remake of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for Game Boy Advance and added a multiplayer game called Four Swords to it. A link to the Past featured only minor changes and translated beautifully to a portable console. In Four Swords you can play as green, blue, red or purple link, with three additional buddies. Like New Super Mario Bros. Wii, you can choose to play cooperative or competitively. Either way this game is a fantastic addition to A Link to the Past and loads of fun to play. The only downside is that it’s relatively short , probably because of lack of space on the cartridge.

The Time Has Come!!!

In 30 minutes the amazing Super Mario 3d Land will be released in America. I plan on going to buy the game from Walmart at Midnight (Gamestop, why do you hate Nintendo so?). So if you want to come join me and the fans that have been camping out all day waiting for its release, feel free to join in on the pandemonium. Joking aside I’m sure this game will be every bit amazing as the early reviews have led me to believe. Check out these videos to get a taste of Mario’s first adventure in glasses-free 3d!

Four Times the Fun

After the great success New Super Mario Bros. for DS had, Nintendo decided to release a sequel for the Wii on November 15, 2009. The game featured updated graphics and up to 4 player co-op play. As fun as Mario is to play on your own, it’s an absolute blast to play with four friends. Much of the hilarity ensues from the ability to help or hinder your friend’s progress. For example, you can pick up and carry a less skilled player over a difficult jump, or choose to hurl them off a ledge to their certain doom. I had a blast playing and beating this game with my siblings. Bowers castle was especially memorable and difficult. We must have died at least 50 times, usually accompanied by hysterical laughing. My only complaint about the game is its ease (until Bowser). Most of the levels will be a piece of cake for veteran Mario players. One thing Nintendo did to compensate for the lack of difficulty was to add three special coins to each level. If you collect all the coins in a world it unlocks a new level in world nine (that are significantly more challenging). New Super Mario Bros Wii, just like Galaxy, is a game that every Wii owner should have. It’s a great way to introduce people who are new to video games into the wonderful world of Mario.

Oracle of Ages

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages is the companion game to Oracle of Seasons. It focuses more on the puzzle aspect of Zelda. This makes it more challenging to advance, but it has easier boss battles then Seasons. I played it a few years ago, after beating Oracle of Seasons, in my quest to finish all the Zelda games Nintendo’s made.

Mario Takes to the Stars

Super Mario Galaxy, released for the Wii on November 12, 2007 is a fantastically wonderful game. Everything about the game is charming from the smooth graphics, to the way gravity is used on planets big and small. Unfortunately, I passed on playing this classic when it was first released and didn’t end up conquering the game until earlier this year, probably because I was occupied with The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. My goal was to finish all the Mario, Zelda, and Metroid games that I’d missed out on. So far I’ve done that with the Zelda series (my favorite) and only have a couple games left in the Mario and Metroid series.

My niece absolutely loves this game and Super Mario 64. She’d would beg me to play them almost every time she’d come over. In Galaxy you can actually have a second player help you collect star bits and stop enemies, which was great fun for my niece. There’s really something special about all the Mario games that’s hard to pin point in words, but instantly apparent when you pick up and start playing the game. There’s a lot of freedom to be found in a Mario game: running, jumping, stomping, flying, throwing fire. Mario’s magic releases the inner childhood dream of being a super hero. You become him. You save the princess. You defeat the evil King Bowser.

To Everything There Is a Season

On May 14, 2001 Zelda fans were treated to two new games for Game Boy Color: The Legend of Zelda Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages. Seasons focused primarily on action while Ages focused more on puzzles. After finishing the game you’re given a password to enter into the other game. This allows you to trade items from Seasons to Ages or vice versa. It also gives you a special ending that ties the games into the Zelda universe. Out of the two, Oracle of Seasons was my favorite one. With the rod of seasons you’re able to manipulate the weather and change it to spring, summer, winter or fall. Doing this changes the landscape and allows you to access different places and solve puzzles. The graphics resemble Link’s Awakening DX and are as good as 8-bit games get. Currently these games are only avalible in their original Game Boy Color cartridge form, but they can be bought used on amazon or ebay. If you like 2d Zelda games then don’t miss out on these two classic games!

Falling Moons, Masks, and Majora

With the huge critical and financial success brought by Ocarina of Time, Nintendo decided to try and strike gold twice by releasing The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. The graphics in this game are very similar to Ocarina of Time but there are some profound gameplay changes. First, there’s a three day time cycle which adds a sense of urgency to completing the various dungeons. Second, there are a bunch of masks that Link can collect to give him special powers and even change into different creatures.

Mario Returns to His Roots

In New Super Mario Bros for the Nintendo DS, Mario takes a break from his outstanding 3d games and returns to his 2d roots. This game came out in 2006, right in the middle of when I was serving a two year mission for my church. Consequently, I didn’t play and beat the game until the beginning of this year. My experience with the game is that it’s a great looking, fun, yet short adventure. The ease of play was probably a move by Nintendo to make the game more approachable to new DS gamers. So, if you’re looking for fun, approachable Mario game that won’t have you tearing out your hair; look no further than New Super Mario Bros!

The Greatest Video Game Ever Made

It was Christmas 1998 and my teenage mind was about to be blown. That was the Christmas that Santa brought a special golden cartridge for the Nintendo 64 called The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Can you tell yet that I really like game!!! The jump from a 2d world to 3d was done with that masterful Nintendo touch, just like they had done with Super Mario 64. The world of Hyrule came to life like never before with wide open spaces to explore. The moment when Link finally picks up the master sword and becomes adult link is breathtaking and beautiful. The new races that link encounters such as the Gorons and Zoras bring life and the sense that you’re traveling through and ancient, mysterious world. The puzzles, dungeons, and bosses in Ocarina of Time are crafted like only the video game master, Miamoto, and his talented Japanese team can create. I’d say more about this wonderful, wonderful game, but this is more vignette than review, and if you’ve never played this game before what are you waiting for! Go out there and play it right now! You won’t regret it. Ocarina of time can be found in many different formats including the original 64 version, the master quest or collector’s edition for Gamecube, a download from the Wii VC, or the fantastic recently remade version for the Nintendo 3ds!

A Shining, Overlooked Gem

Mario’s next game would mark a departure from the status quo in multiple ways. Super Mario Sunshine for the Nintendo Gamecube came to the US on August 26, 2002, almost a year after the consoles launch. Prior Nintendo consoles had always launched alongside a big Mario game, but this time around they decided to give Mario’s brother Luigi the spotlight in the game Luigi’s Mansion (An excellent game itself). Another big change for Mario was the tropical island setting of the game and the addition of the FLUDD, a water –slinging, jetpack-like back pack.

Sadly, this is one of the few Mario games (Lost Levels and Galaxy 2 being the others) that I have not played from start to finish. I’m not sure why it didn’t catch my attention when it first came out, possibly because I was eagerly anticipating Link’s next adventure in The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. I had hoped to beat the game before writing this blog entry, but that didn’t happen, so now I’ll try and finish it before Super Mario 3d Land comes out in a few days. If you’ve never had the chance to play this overlooked gem of a Mario game then I highly recommend putting it on your video game bucket list pronto.