A few thoughts on WarioWare Gold now that I've beaten its story mode

Those of you who've played this entry in Nintendo's long-running WarioWare series--or any of its installments, really--must be thinking something like, I hope you don't consider beating this game's story mode to be an accomplishment!

You're right, of course. After all, you can finish WarioWare Gold's story mode in just a couple of hours if you don't drag your feet.

I'm patting myself on the back anyway, though--mostly because I managed to do the above plus a bit more over the last couple of weeks despite the fact that Octopath Traveler has been monopolizing my free time since it came out in mid-July.

In fact, I've now put about four hours into WarioWare Gold. Even that's nothing to brag about, admittedly, but it's been more than enough to time to get a good feel for the game, and that's what matters here. Speaking of which, keep reading for my initial thoughts on this zany 3DS title.

The cutscenes are awesome--In fact, I'd go so far as to say they're the highlight of the entire package. The main reason for that is they're funny. Surprisingly funny, even. My favorite is the one starring 5-Volt (9-Volt's mom). In it, she becomes obsessed with a buff dude named Mr. Sparkles, who sells special frying pans--they're so heavy you basically have to become a bodybuilder to use them--via cheesy infomercials.

I actually love the voice acting--And that's not something you'll hear me say all that often. No joke, I usually either don't care about voice acting or actively dislike it (to the point that I turn it off, assuming that's an option). I adore the voice acting in WarioWare Gold, though--which is a good thing, as the game's crammed full of it. I'm especially smitten with Wario and the new addition to the franchise, the spunky and heavily browed Lulu.

I wish the game didn't force you to unlock so much of its content--I know this is typical of the series. Or at least that's what I've heard. (I've only played a handful of WarioWare titles to date: Smooth Moves and D.I.Y.) Whatever the case may be, I'd prefer it if this entry didn't make unlocking its "souvenir" mini-games, like Mewtroid 2 and Super Pyoro, such a chore. To do that, you have to rack up points playing the title's story and challenge modes--usually over and over again. Then you plop those points into a capsule machine and pray something interesting pops out. In other words, depending on your luck, you may get Micro Golf or Pro Bowl early on or you may have to wait quite some time to gain access to them.

I'm not sure how many more hours I'll put into it--Don't get me wrong, I've thoroughly enjoyed what I've experienced so far. That said, I'm not entirely convinced the rest of what's on offer here is going to be enough to keep me coming back for more than a few additional hours. If I could freely play all of its bonus mini-games, that'd probably extend things at least a little while longer. As things stand, though, I have a feeling my time with WarioWare Gold is about to come to a close.

Even if I quit right now, I won't regret my purchase--Probably. I think. Maybe? Why the hesitation? I don't often spend $30-plus on a game and then stop playing it after just a few days. Given that, I won't be surprised if I slightly regret buying WarioWare Gold down the road. Still, I had an absolute blast during the four or so hours I've spent with this game, so I'll do what I can to keep those feelings of remorse to an absolute minimum.

Have any of you played WarioWare Gold? If so, what did you think of it?

See also: 'five reasons I've fallen head over heels in love with Sushi Striker' and '10 things I adore about Octopath Traveler'

'Dead Wario' mug + 'Dead Mario' badges by the illustrious OSKUNK!

Those of you who've been coming here for a bit should be well aware of my love for the artist who calls himself OSKUNK!

(Don't worry, the exclamation point at the end there is his doing, not mine. Not that I hate exclamation points, mind you.)



After all, I've published just a few posts about his creations over the years--a good number of which have focused (and deservedly so) on his custom-painted Dreamcast consoles and controllers.

Today's post, though, focuses on some of his Nintendo-centric concoctions, with the first being the completely awesome "Dead Wario" mug showcased in the photo above.

Seriously, if I had one of these mugs, I'd never drink out of anything else. Even when I switched from coffee or tea to water or soda or booze.



The "Dead Mario" badges shown in the following photo are pretty great, too, but it's kind of hard for them to compete against the "Dead Wario" mugs, isn't it?

If you'd like even more OSKUNK! goodness, by the way, be sure to check out the custom-painted Super Smash Bros. GameCube controller that can be spied here.

A fairly gay Q&A with Aedan Roberts (aka the artist behind the 'Nüdtendo' portrait series)

Although scores of people have produced illustrations, paintings and other pieces of art that depict Nintendo's characters in various states of undress, few have done so with the kind of whimsical verve that's on display in each and every one of Aedan Roberts' "Nüdtendo" portraits.

You see, all 18 of the portraits Roberts has completed so far render the Japanese giant's extensive stable of colorful protagonists and cohorts as both naked and, to varying degrees, surprised and embarrassed.

Roberts recently agreed to answer a handful questions about what prompted him to start the series, why he decided to focus on Nintendo characters, how many more he plans to produce and much more.

The Gay Gamer: When did you start creating these "Nüdtendo" portraits, and what prompted you to do so?

Aedan Roberts: I began creating this series back in the summer of 2012. Up until that point, all my gallery work was intentionally devoid of work that contained other people's intellectual property. I was still trying to figure out a way to do it without falling directly into the "fan art" category while also doing something fun and original.

At the time, I was doodling some of my favorite characters and was up to Mario. I tend to draw my characters naked when I'm working out their proportions and then add the clothes in a later version. But before I could progress, my boyfriend stopped me and told me I had something with this stout, squat, embarrassed creature I had just doodled. So I finished him up, painted him, and then did another two vignettes (Link and Samus). The results were so popular that I decided to go whole hog and make it into a series.

The Gay Gamer: Why did you decide to focus on Nintendo characters?

Aedan Roberts: The decision to concentrate on Nintendo characters was both because I love the long, storied history of Nintendo intellectual property and because it gave unity to the project.

I grew up as a fan of Nintendo. Our very first console was an SNES and from there I have owned every single generation (barring the Wii U at the moment). I have such an emotional attachment to these characters, and if I was going to create a satire where I reproduce a famous series of characters, I wanted it to be these.

The Gay Gamer: Was your plan all along to create a series, by the way, or did that just come to you after you'd made a few?

Aedan Roberts: I decided to turn it into a full-on series after the original three proved to be so popular. I then gave myself a goal--52--that I don't know if I'll reach, but I'll definitely try.

The Gay Gamer: Can you tell me a bit about how they're created? Based on the descriptions you've included on your etsy shop, I'm guessing they're paintings? Regardless, what kind of process do you go through to produce them?

Aedan Roberts: Each character is drawn out so I can translate it into my style. After that, I try to make sure the proportions are in line with the previous characters and then I re-draw the sketch onto hot press watercolor paper. I then glue the paper to a small wooden board, paint the character and then place the board into a custom-painted shadowbox. The color of each shadowbox is made to coincide with the character within. That way, when the shadowboxes are placed together, it forms a pixel-like color grid.

King Boo's balls and Birdo's bits

What would King Boo, Birdo and all sorts of other Nintendo characters--yes, including Mario, Luigi, Link, Peach and Zelda--look like in the buff?

Brooklyn-based artist Aedan Roberts answers that question in a most amusing way via his recent "Nüdtendo" portrait series--two pieces of which can be seen below.

Here, for instance, is King Boo--and, er, his "bits":

Unsurprisingly--given the above, at least--Birdo's bits also are on display in Roberts' humorous portrait of the much-loved Super Mario Bros. 2 baddie.

To see the rest of Roberts' Nüdtendo series--my current favorites are Wario, Tingle, Peach and Link--check out his site, aedanroberts.com.

If you're interested in either of the pieces shown above, by the way, the King Boo one can be bought here (for $275), while the Birdo one can be bought here for the same price. (A few others also are for sale via Roberts' etsy shop.)

(Via boyculture.com)

Manly, muscly Wario

When I think of Wario, I think of an annoyingly lovable mischief-maker. I don't think of a Tom of Finland-esque muscleman.

Thankfully, artist Pauli Kohberger (aka madamluna) is more imaginative than I am. Otherwise, we wouldn't have access to the following illustration, which is rather appropriately titled, "Greed is Good."

To see more examples of Kohberger's work, check out her blog, Electric Stories, and/or her deviantART gallery.

If Mario were a girl and Peach were a boy ...

... I hope they would look at least something like the adorable characters seen in the following illustrations (get a better look at them here), produced by Canadian artist Beth T (aka rollingrabbit):

Beth says on her tumblog that the female Luigi is her favorite. (She also likes "how Waluigi just looks the usual design, but in drag.") As for me, I think I like her male Peach best.

(Via bowonbirdo.tumblr.com)

Reason #127 I wish I was at GDC 2010

Yesterday morning (I know, I'm a bit behind), the folks over at joystiq.com posted the following photo from their perch at the Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco:

I'm guessing they got the playful papercraft from someone at Nintendo of America, as the company's WarioWare D.I.Y. will hit store shelves (in the States) in just a few weeks.

See also: 'Another reason to add WarioWare: D.I.Y. to your DS wish list' and 'More evidence that WarioWare D.I.Y. is going to be awesomely magnificent'