Nintendo-Hard
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 03/25/12 at 12:28 PM CT
The MeltedJoystick team has been playing quite a bit of “Rayman Origins” lately, which is a challenging, traditional 2D Platformer. The fact that this game has a bit of challenge to it has prompted Nick and myself to get into an argument about whether or not it should be classified as ‘Nintendo-Hard,’ with Nick voting in favor and me voting against that designation.
So what exactly is Nintendo-Hard? No, it’s not what occurs in a Nintendo Fanboy’s pants when he sees a mint condition copy of “Little Samson” in a pawn shop for $5. Nintendo-Hard is a term applied to 8-bit games on the classic Nintendo Entertainment System (which was commonly called just ‘The Nintendo’ by its users). Typically Nintendo-Hard games weren’t even made by Nintendo themselves (though there were a few), but by other long-haul Japanese developers like Capcom and Konami, or even clueless Westerners.
According to TVtropes: “The game mechanics that make a game "Nintendo Hard" were often …
Noli Me Tangere!
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 03/17/12 at 03:37 PM CT
According to Christian mythology, the risen Jesus yelled, “Noli me tangere!” when one of his disciples tried to touch him to confirm that he was real and not an apparition. Whether you believe that or not, Jesus did get one thing right: Touching is bad.
Specifically, I’m referring to the current trend for every game console, computer, and other electronic gadget to incorporate a touchscreen. While touchscreen gaming began mostly as a Nintendo gimmick with their DS handheld, the fact that Apple hopped on the finger-friendly bandwagon has prompted technology hipsters to proclaim it the BEST. TECH. EVAR., which, of course, has prompted everyone else in the gadget industry to adopt the technology, whether it makes sense or not, just to get their hands on some of that sweet hipster cash.
I admittedly don’t have a lot of experience with touchscreen-controlled gaming, simply because my experience with the DS has been so profoundly negative as to turn me off on portable gaming …
Vaguely Related: ReDigi
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 03/11/12 at 02:28 PM CT
The advent of the digital marketplace has done a lot for intellectual property peddlers, drastically improving their ability to put media in front of consumers’ eyeballs. By cutting out scores of middle-men, digital distribution enables a la carte purchases where once albums and bundles reigned supreme, places Indies toe-to-toe with Big Media, and allows for overall lower prices due to the removal of physical packaging and minimum production numbers. These changes from the standard retail model are good for both producers and consumers.
However, all is not rainbows and roses. Thanks to increasingly desperate and tyrannical overreaching by the producers of intellectual property, the copyright system has become a legal minefield, shrouded in a tangled morass of poisonous webbing. While it may be easier to purchase intellectual property than ever before thanks to digital distribution, it is now more dangerous to even think about intellectual property than ever before thanks to the …
10 Forgotten 8-bit Games that Need a Remake/Reboot
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 03/03/12 at 03:58 PM CT
The 3rd Generation of consoles was home to a lot of innovation and creativity in game design. Games were an entirely new canvas upon which to paint entertainment, with only the barest of design paradigms laid-down by Generations 1 and 2. Yet for all its freedom and newness, the 3rd Generation was not without its problems: Crushing difficulty due to the ‘arcade mentality,’ sloppy controls that made even interesting games unplayable, and terrible Engrish (or lack of text altogether) that made everything a guessing game with completely inscrutable rules and goals.
Modern games have evolved beyond the flaws of yesteryear (and, in the course, developed a host of flaws of their own), with many long-running franchises experiencing every evolutionary bump in the road. Yet the 3rd Generation also was home to a number of intriguing games that never developed into franchises, thus becoming frozen in the past. Here’s a list of 8-bit games that I’d like to see re-created with a fresh …
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