In my dreams: Nintendo would remake Balloon Kid

I'm not usually one to beg for remakes, but that doesn't mean I'm completely opposed to them. For instance, I'd really like to see the able folks at Nintendo release an updated version--for, say, the Wii--of the GameBoy classic, Balloon Kid.

For those of you who have, sadly, never experienced this Balloon Fight sequel, here's the lowdown: It's a flying platformer that was developed by Pax Softnica (yeah, I've never heard of the company before either) and published and released, in Europe and North America, by Nintendo in 1990 and 1991, respectively.



What in the heck is a "flying platformer," you ask? Well, it's a platformer--think Super Mario Bros.--that calls on players to navigate the game's many stages using balloons à la Balloon Fight. Balloon Kid turns the genre on its ear in few other ways, too, such as by forcing gamers to move from right to left rather than left to right and by making the protagonist a girl (Alice) who is out to save a boy (her little brother, Jim).

As for how I'd like Nintendo's developers to remake this gem of a game: In my dreams, they'd make it look like it was drawn with colored pencils--the game kicks off in Pencilvania, after all--à la the masterful Yoshi's Island.

I know the likelihood of either of the above happening is somewhere between slim and none, but I'll hold out hope anyway.

See also: 'Balloon fightin' kid to the rescue!' (at geozeldadude.wordpress.com)

Famicom Friday

The folks from UPS have dropped a number of packages at my doorstep over the last few days. The contents of those packages: Six Famicom games I purchased (via eBay) shortly after my birthday.

Five of those games--BurgerTime, Mappy, Pac-Man, Sky Kid and The Tower of Druaga (below)--were produced by the fine folks at Namcot.

As for the sixth game, well, I'm pretty sure most of you have heard of it.

(It's the original Super Mario Bros., in case you can't make that out in the photo above.)

Isn't that banana-yellow cartridge grand?

Check out my Flickr photostream (here) if you want to see more Glamour Shot-esque pics of my latest gaming haul.

Donkey Kong: Original Edition ain't all that

Did you hear that? It was me breathing a sigh of relief for not buying one of those European red Wii systems--you know, the ones preloaded with Donkey Kong: Original Edition.

I don't know if I actually would have gone through with it, but I certainly thought about it once or twice after it was announced that Donkey Kong: Original Edition included the "pie factory" level (right) previously limited to the arcade version of the game.

After playing the game for a few hours last night, I can say with complete certainty that blowing £200 (about $315) on a European red Wii just so I could gain access to the above-mentioned level would have been an awful waste of my hard-earned money.

Why? For starters, the pie factory is the game's weakest level. Sure, the stage's conveyor belts and cement pans (sorry, they're not really pies) can be a bit of a challenge, but after you've played it a few times it can be cleared in seconds.

Even if said level were the game's strongest, though, it wouldn't make it worth $315. Subtract about $300 from that total and you'll see what I think a digital version of Donkey Kong: Original Edition is worth (although I have to admit I'd personally pay up to $10 for it).

So, you mean I can stop cursing Nintendo of America now?

The brass at Nintendo have made some strange decisions in recent years regarding the worldwide (or not) release of their games.

One example: Their decision to release games like Another Code: R, Disaster: Day of Crisis and Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse in Japan--and Europe, in the case of the first two titles--but not in North America. (Maybe they think Americans are anti-colon when it comes to game titles?)

Another example: Their decision to preload their "special edition" red Wii systems with a 25th anniversary edition of Super Mario Bros. in Japan and Donkey Kong: Original Edition in Europe--and a big, fat nothing in North America.

Honestly, I'd run out and buy one of the red Wiis that are currently available in North America right now if it included a copy of Donkey Kong: Original Edition--despite the fact that I already own a Wii and I'd rather save that money to buy a few Famicom or PC Engine games (or maybe a PS3 or an Xbox 360).



As that isn't the case, I've spent way too much of my time cursing Nintendo of America since the red Wii was released--sans Donkey Kong: Original Edition--on Nov. 7.

Well, all of that cursing ended last night (for the most part) when I discovered that someone recently ripped the game from his/her European Wii and posted it on line. (The version I found seems to be playable on any Famicom/NES emulator.)

Don't worry, I'll hand over whatever the folks at Nintendo of America decide to charge for the game should they ever get the go-ahead to put it on their Virtual Console service.

Until that time, though, I'll enjoy playing it--using FCE Ultra GX--on my homebrew-enabled Wii.

See also: 'Cement pie'

Is that a Mega Buster in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?

Hey you, don't be silly ... put a condom on your willy! (Or should that last part be "put a condom on your Wily"?)

That's the basic message behind the following Mega Man-inspired video, produced by the folks at the Leicestershire Teenage Pregnancy Partnership in Leicestershire, England.



I can't be the only person who would proudly play the game above, can I?

(Via kotaku.com)