Showing posts with label New Super Mario Bros.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Super Mario Bros.. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Hey Nintendo, where's my 'New Legend of Zelda'?

You know what I find strange? I find it strange that the folks at Nintendo have yet to release a back-to-its-roots Zelda game (à la New Super Mario Bros. and New Super Mario Bros. Wii).

Instead, they seem to be obsessed with either recreating Ocarina of Time (see: Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword) or re-imagining Wind Waker (see: Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks).

Personally, I'd prefer it if the company's designers and programmers took the series back to its 16-bit glory days and produced a game that brought to mind A Link to the Past. It wouldn't have to be sprite-based, of course--although I certainly wouldn't complain if it were--but I do think it should use a top-down perspective similar to the one seen in the above-mentioned SNES (or Super Famicom, if that's your thing) classic.


Going back to this so-called New Legend of Zelda's graphics for a second: Sure, the game could ape the New Super Mario Bros. titles and feature acceptably-crafted-yet-somewhat-boring polygonal characters and environments, but I'd much rather see Nintendo's developers push the envelope a bit. For example, they could make it appear as though everything in the game were created using clay or fabric (à la Kirby's Epic Yarn). Or they could turn to the Paper Mario series--or the image above--for inspiration and make it look like a pop-up book.

That said, I'll gladly accept slightly uninspired visuals if it means I'll get to play a "modern" Zelda game that feels and plays like A Link to the Past.

What do you think? Would you like the folks at Nintendo to release New Legend of Zelda for the 3DS, Wii U or both? If so, how would you want the game to look and feel?

Thursday, June 17, 2010

A sign of the apocalypse? My mom is obsessed with New Super Mario Bros.

My mom has had a DS for quite some time. She isn't much of a gamer, though--at least, not in the traditional sense. Until a few days ago, for example, her favorite games were Brain Age, CrossworDS and Tetris DS.

What happened a few days ago? Well, she picked up my copy of New Super Mario Bros. and gave it a go. She's been playing it ever since. (OK, she's taken time off to eat, sleep and play some Shanghai on her computer--but other than that she's been playing New Super Mario Bros.)

I've had to help her quite a bit--by telling her what the buttons and power-ups do, etc.--but I don't mind. I'm just glad she's moving, slowly but surely, beyond her "casual gamer" comfort zone.

See also: 'On the road again'