Happy Feet - It's Like Three Mario Party Minigames Over and Over

Platform: PC, GCN, PS2, Wii -- Genre: Minigame Collection -- Release: November, 2006

Having never seen the movie, I figured it would be a great idea to pick up and review Happy Feet on GameCube from my local library. It turned out to be about as fun as you'd expect (not very).

Happy Feet, the game, retells the story of the movie - I assume anyway, I haven't actually watched the movie - via decently well-animated and fully voiced cutscenes which seem to even have the original voice actors from the movie. Without having seen the movie, I was able to get the gist of the story of how Mumble the penguin was an outcast because he couldn't sing and was more interested in dancing. Penguins hate dancing apparently. In the end, he ends up saving everyone in some way that wasn't quite clear and they finally accept him for the awkward nerd that he is. Yay. ...So what I'm saying is that while the cutscenes are about the only decent thing this game has going for it, it wasn't always clear how they connected to each other without having seen the movie.
I streamed and recorded my entire playthrough of the game here for your viewing displeasure. Don't get the wrong idea though; it's not like the entire game is cutscenes! That'd be just silly. No, the cutscenes are accompanies by one of three types of stages, which all basically amount to a single Mario Party minigame stretched to a tedious length.

These stage variations are:

Dancing. It's exactly like DDR, but played with a controller. You can use a dance pad, but the other, non-dancing, minigames are virtually unplayable with a dance pad, so you're better off just sticking to a controller. All of the dance stages have three difficulties, but even on Hard, the difficulty is stupid easy. There also aren't any timing judgments for hitting the arrows, so it's either "hit" or "not hit". That's not a big deal, but I'm just saying that so you know that this DDR knock-off has absolutely no bells and whistles whatsoever.

Belly Sledding. These levels are the only ones to offer any sort of fun at all. They have you sliding down snowy mountains with curves, jumps, and boosts, and depending on the stage you'll have to race another penguin, collect a certain number of objects on the way, or race against the clock by getting time extensions and checkpoints. All the sledding levels have the same arctic aesthetic, but they do have different curves and jumps if you're paying attention. You can also do a trick in the air for a speed boost and for the swag. The gameplay is still very limited, but I could see it being sufficiently entertaining for young kids (but still, there are better games out there).

Swimming. In my opinion, these are the most boring stages of all. Here you're basically on-rails underwater and you have to move around the screen to collect items, hit speed boosts, collect air bubbles, or dodge attacks (on the few stages where you're fleeing a predator). It's incredibly dull.








These three level types repeat for the entire game with only slight variations in goals (do it fast or do it while collecting items). None of them are particularly difficult, but I imagine that it would be possible for younger players to fail on some of the time-based stages. Lucky for them, if you fail a stage twice you'll have the option to skip it. Not that I ever saw that menu; I read about it in the manual, alright?

Each level has medals you can earn according to how well you do, and getting gold medals unlocks some lame bonuses like music videos and solitaire.

The only other thing to note about this game is that it has multiplayer. Two players can do the dancing stages side by side. For belly sledding stages, one person sleds while the other inputs button combinations to break rock formations. Then the sledding player is supposed to slide through the newly made openings for points. And for swimming... well, you both just move around on the screen at the same time.

The Final Word:
Happy Feet is just a boring game; the worst kind of bad game. Young children who like the movie would probably enjoy it, but with a million other better games out there, there's really no reason to waste time on this one.

If you made it through this review, you'd probably be interested in seeing what I rated as the top five poopiest games. They're literally games with poop in them.

GameCube Pre-Release Preview Minidisc

Before the Nintendo GameCube was released, I received this promotional preview minidisc from somewhere... I don't even remember where, but it looks like it might've come in the mail.

Even though it looks like a GameCube game, it's only playable on a computer and it has a Flash menu from which you can see information on the console, screenshots and trailers for upcoming games, and get wallpapers for your computer. There are also some outdated links to Nintendo websites like Nintendo Power and Nintendo Cube Club.

Check out the video tour I recorded of the interface and information inside. Interestingly, it advertised an SD-Memory Card Adapter, which I don't remember ever being officially released.
The disc contains previews for a bunch of early Gamecube games: Star Wars Rogue Squadron: Rogue Leader, Wave Race: Blue Storm, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet, SSX Tricky, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Pikmin, NBA Courtside 2002, Madden 2002, Luigi's Mansion, and Extreme-G 3. If you want, you can watch all of the trailers as they are on the disc here:
That's about all there is to it. For the good of the internet, here's a zip of all the files on the disc (it's just flash, videos, images, and html, so you probably don't need an iso). (157.27 MB)

I hope you enjoyed this small blast from the past. For more Nintendo stuff from around this time, check out that time Nintendo sent out mannequin hands to promote the DS or Camp Hyrule wallpapers!

GCN Interactive Mutli-Game Demo Disc Version 34

Remember 2006? That was the year Twitter launched and the Winter Olympics were held in Turin, Italy. Yeah, I don't remember it either. Perhaps this will jog your memory:
I'll be straight with you, there's nothing extraordinary about demo kiosks in 2006. There've been demos of games set up in stores for as long as I can remember. What's interesting is when they have special discs and cartridges made only for them, often including older versions of games. These discs and cartridges can end up being quite (or just somewhat) rare since they were supposed to be retrieved by the game company when a representative updated the kiosk.

The only thing special about the GameCube demo from 2006 is that it's one that I own. Here it is:

Front

Back

The disc itself

Now, bear with me for a sec, because I don't have a way to directly capture screenshots from the GameCube or older consoles, but here's what it looks like when you boot up the demo disc on a GameCube and check the menu screen:

There you go, pretty standard. It does have its own preview thumbnail though. From there, up comes the GameCube logo and the sound of some woman creepily whispering "GameCube" before you get to the demo selection menu.

There it is running on a Wii, though it doesn't really make any difference. Other versions of Interactive Multi-Game Demo Discs had variations in appearance and available demos which also varied across regions. This is a US version, by the way.
Version 34 contains playable demos of Chibi-Robo, Sonic Riders, Naruto, and Super Mario Strikers and trailers for Odama, Metroid Prime: Hunters, Fifa Street 2, Major League Baseball 2K6, Chibi-Robo, Sonic Riders, Curious George, and ESRB.
If left idle on the main menu, a trailer is played. The demos also have restrictions on certain features or areas and eventually time out and reset back to the main menu.
And that's about it. If you can't get enough of game demos, check out my DS Download Station which is even more cool than this.

Why Linearity in 3D Mario Isn't a Bad Thing

I've written before about linearity in gaming and how it isn't necessarily the bad thing that many believe it to be. The gist of that article was that when done right, both linear and nonlinear games can be fun and good games. Rather than one style being "good" and the other "bad", they're more like different subgenres which can be more or less fun based on one's own personal preference. I also wrote that I believe that much of the hate directed toward so-called linear games occurs when said games break the expectations of fans and diverge from the style of previous games in the series.

The situation with 3D Mario games is much the same way. Super Mario 64 brought Mario into the 3D world in the form of an adventure-platforming game. The platforming from Mario's 2D days carried over, but now there was also an emphasis on exploring large, open levels in search of stars. In many cases, each level's multiple stars could be found in any order and through a variety of paths by utilizing Mario's new repertoire acrobatic moves. In some cases, the star would only be available when it was selected upon entering the level, causing minor changes in the stage. 

Out of all the 3D Mario games, Super Mario 64 placed the biggest focus on adventure and exploration. Since then, each game in the series has shifted the focus little by little, back towards Mario's roots of linear platforming. Super Mario Sunshine retained Super Mario 64's wide open levels, but had more objectives that required level altering changes, which resulted in most cases in a set order within each level. It also expanded upon Super Mario 64's pre-level hints by showing a short video of the goal's location, thus reducing the amount of exploration required. The Super Mario Galaxy games took Mario even further in the direction of linearity by mostly having levels that were less open and explorable, but which had clear objectives and focused platforming. Finally, Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario 3D World are the culmination of these trends, retaining no semblance of the adventure genre and focusing entirely on 3D platforming.

Not bad, just different.

But this isn't a bad thing. Yes, it differs from what fans of Super Mario 64 expect from a 3D Mario game and leaves a void of first party adventure games, but that doesn't mean that the new style of 3D Mario is "bad". In fact, this more linear 3D interpretation of Mario's 2D roots brings with it some advantages over the adventure focused games in the series. The truth is that both kinds of 3D Mario games have their pros, cons, and differences that are neither good nor bad except within one's personal preferences.

One advantage of linear level design is that the objective is clear, though this is also a matter of personal preference. What is described as "exploring" by some players could be described as "wandering around" by others. With linear levels, you know exactly where you're going and can focus on platforming at a faster pace. Also, with less possible routes, the challenge and experience in each level can be better tailored to the designer's wishes, since they know exactly where the player will be at any given point. Since most levels have only one or two objectives, there can also be a wider variety and greater number of levels. That also means that you won't spend as much time retracing your steps by exploring each level multiple times like you would in more nonlinear Mario games. Of course, linear level design also means that you won't be able to be as creative with how you get to the goal.

Super Mario 64's nonlinear design meant going through the same areas
multiple times; even more so if you didn't know where you were going.
On the other hand, multiple routes were possible.

My aim in writing this is for you, the reader, to understand that while each style of 3D Mario has its minor advantages and disadvantages, the differences are, for the most part, neither good nor bad, but simply different. It's understandable why fans of Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine would be upset by the change in formula, but "3D Mario" is not a unified series. Super Mario 64 is different from Super Mario Sunshine which is different from the Galaxy games which are different from the Super Mario 3D games, and none hold any obligation to follow the patterns set by the others. It's fine to prefer one kind of 3D Mario over another - it would be strange if you didn't - but know that personal preference does not determine a game's overall quality.

I'd also like to note, now that Mario has returned to his platforming roots and Rare isn't developing N64 games any more, it sure would be nice if another franchise picked up the adventure-genre slack. Make it happen, Nintendo!

Mr. Driller: Drill Land - Can you dig it?

Platform: GCN    Genre: Puzzle    Release: Dec. 19, 2002

If you've played previous Mr. Driller games, you may think that you know the drill, but Mr. Driller: Drill Land brings several new versions of that classic formula to the table which should entertain fans and newcomers alike. 

For those not in the know, Mr. Driller is a series of puzzle games which involve digging down through colored blocks. Same colored blocks stick together and will break when you drill through a connecting block, causing all the blocks above them to fall. You have to keep moving steadily downward while avoiding being crushed and while keeping an eye out for air refills if you want to win.

This game takes place in a theme park which has various attractions that all involve drilling. From the main hub, you can choose which of the five modes you want to play or go to the shops to spend the points you earn from playing on collectible cards, goods, and items that will help you clear levels if you get stuck. There's also a mostly pointless parade that you can watch and control that has the characters going by on floats. Four player multiplayer is also available from the main menu and features a race and a battle mode.

Each of the five attractions has three difficulties and an unlimited mode, but only the easiest difficulty is available to start. The others are unlocked one at a time as you clear all five modes on each available difficulty. The harder difficulties not only make the distance you have to dig longer, but in most cases they add new layouts of blocks and other new puzzle elements as well. Each level is also accompanied with a fully voice acted cutscene before and after it, which is generally just silly dialogue between the characters. There is a story, but it's very simple and unnecessary. The graphics are crisp and colorful, and it's worth noting that the game's soundtrack is absolutely fantastic (composed by Go Shiina of Tales of Legendia fame). In fact, the only way I knew about this game in the first place was because of its soundtrack.

Now then, onto the different modes, each of which I have recorded for your viewing pleasure.

World Drill Tour
Gameplay at 4:00 World Drill Tour is the mode that most resembles previous Mr. Driller games; in fact, it's almost identical. The goal is simply to get to the target depth while collecting air tanks. You only have three lives so you'll have to be careful to avoid getting crushed or running out of air. For high score seekers, the more air containers you get, the more points you get. You'll also get a bonus for collecting every air tank, not losing lives, and for finishing quickly. This is also the only mode in which you can choose any character and each character has certain strengths that are unique to them.

Star Driller
Gameplay at 0:50 Star Driller is very similar to World Drill Tour except that there are now ?-Block items that will cause one of many random effects to occur. Usually the effects are good and may refill your air, increase your max air, warp you further down, or destroy blocks. But getting the item blocks is also a risk because sometimes a black hole will appear which will suck you in and put you back to the start of the section you're in if you fall into it.
Drindy Adventure
Gameplay at 0:55 Drindy Adventure is the first mode that makes significant changes to the traditional formula. Air is no longer an issue, so you have as long as you need to figure out what to drill and what not to drill. However, on your way to the bottom there are gold statues that you have to collect. It isn't as easy as just collecting them though, as they are usually guarded by traps such as rolling boulders, spikes, and fire. This mode is definitely more about planning than speed.
Horror Night House
Gameplay at 1:00 This haunted house themed mode is more different still and probably one of the funnest. Once again, the air meter is gone and instead there is an HP meter. Also, the goal is no longer to reach a target depth. Instead, you'll need to collect jars of holy water which you can use to freeze roaming ghosts in blocks. Once frozen, the ghosts can be defeated by drilling the block that they are contained in. This causes them to drop "drystals" which you need to advance to the next level. If you get crushed, are attacked by the ghosts, or drill a block containing ghosts that aren't frozen, you'll lose HP. Running out of HP means game over.
Hole of Druaga
Gameplay at 1:00 This is the most different of all the modes and it resembles a dungeon crawler. The stage is divided into a randomly generated arrangement of rooms which are revealed on the map as you explore them. This time you have HP instead of air, but your HP decreases not only from being crushed, but also every time you drill or get hit by enemies. Yeah, there are enemies now and if you beat them, they'll drop items. The items can be used from a menu and will destroy certain blocks, change the color of blocks, restore your HP, or give you helpful abilities. In order to win, you'll have to find a key that is being guarded by a dragon, then find the door that the key opens, and finally defeat a boss using the items you collected throughout the level. Along with Horror Night House, Hole of Druaga is my other favorite mode.
Everything about Mr. Driller: Drill Land is incredibly polished and fun. The soundtrack and voice acted cutscenes are above and beyond the call of duty for a puzzle game like this, but are very much welcomed. It really is strange that this game never made it out of Japan because it is an excellent puzzle game. If you're into puzzle games or other Mr. Driller games and have the ability to play it, I definitely recommend giving it a shot. 

In order to play Mr. Driller: Drill Land you will need a Japanese console, a region-modded console, or a Wii with the ability to change the game region and language to Japanese. You will not be able to save if using Freeloader for Game Cube. Japanese Game Cube games require their own memory card with only Japanese save data on them which must be reformatted when used for the first time. Mr. Driller: Drill Land is one of a few games that checks the console's region before saving, so if you don't change the game region and language with AnyRegionChanger (or a safer and more up-to-date app like ModMii) you will not be able to save even if you can run the game. I found that running Pimp My Wii, which automatically downloaded and installed the appropriate hacks and custom IOSs required, fixed any errors I encountered with AnyRegionChanger, but due to the constantly evolving homebrew scene, I recommend that you find a more up-to-date and in depth tutorial if you are planning to attempt changing your Wii's region.

Kirby Air Ride is Nintendo's Twisted Metal

Developed by Masahiro Sakurai and HAL Laboratory, most famous for the Kirby and Super Smash Bros. series and more recently Kid Icarus Uprising, Kirby Air Ride offers a very unique racing experience. While Air Ride is arguably unbalanced, simplistic, relatively sparse in content, and overshadowed by Mario Kart: Double Dash and F-Zero GX, it is still a blast to play and more fun than it has any right to be.

The basic controls of Kirby Air Ride are, well, basic, but in a good way. To move forward, you don't press anything and just move the control stick to turn. Then, to make a sharp turn, you hold A to start drifting and turning, which charges up a boost meter. After a second or two, if all goes well, you'll be aiming yourself down the next stretch of the track and upon releasing the A button will get a boost. There are also occasional enemies that you can inhale by tapping A which will give you various temporary abilities that you can use to get ahead or attack the other players. Gliding is also an important mechanic in this game and it's easy to pop off the track and fly through the air with the greatest of ease. And one other point of mention is that you can draft off of other players by following behind them, which now is a commonplace feature in racing games, but at the time seemed pretty innovative, at least to me.

The game itself, unfortunately, doesn't offer as much content as one might like. It is divided into three modes: Air Ride, Top Ride, and City Trial.

Air Ride is your typical race. You pick a track, pick a vehicle, and race. There are only 9 tracks to choose from, but they are pretty well designed and fun to race on for the most part. There are also 16 vehicles to choose from (plus a couple more in City Trial) and each offers a very distinct experience. In fact, the play styles are so distinct that, while fun to play, there are always certain vehicles that are obviously the best or worst or suited only for particular tracks.

In Top Ride, players control their vehicles from a top down view and race around one of seven much smaller tracks. There are only two vehicles available for this mode and they only offer different ways to control for your convenience. In both Air Ride and Top Ride there are a few options for those who are interested in setting Time Trials records.

Last is City Trial, which is the most unique and tends to be everyone's favorite. I've owned this game since around when it came out and I still pop it in from time to time to play City Trial with friends. In this mode, you and three other players (computer or human) are placed in a "city" which you have a set amount of time to explore. During this time, you can collect power ups which increase your vehicle's stats to improve your top speed, turning, boost, glide, and others. There are also attack items which you can use to gain temporary abilities and attack other players, causing them to drop some of their power ups which you can then steal (so basically, this could be Nintendo's Twisted Metal if you wanted it to be). Also there are other vehicles scattered around the map at random that you can switch to if you want. During your time in the city there are occasional events, like boxes all containing the same item or a UFO appearing in the sky with items on it. 

At the end of the allotted time, everyone competes in a randomly selected minigame, which range from long distance gliding competitions to races to destruction derbies. Thus comes one of the problems: since certain vehicles have certain things they're obviously the best at, in a lot of cases, as long as you have a decent number of power ups, what really matters is what vehicle you have and whether it matches up with the minigame. This is most obvious when it comes to the long jump, high jump, and drag race, in which you can usually predict the winner just based on the vehicles that everyone has. Sometimes during City Trial, a message will appear, giving a hint as to what the minigame will be, so this somewhat takes care of the issue, but even still, the minigames rarely are won by skill in that challenge but by the skill of collecting the most power ups in the city. 

Suddenly, there's more to do in this game.

Because of that, winning the minigames hardly even feels like winning. Which is why when my friends and I play, we make our own fun by just competing for the most power ups, trying to find our favorite vehicles first, or attempting the challenges on the checklist. "What? Checklist?" you say? Yes, that's right, where the game lacks in content it makes up for in having a giant grid of mini achievements for each of its three modes. Many of these just happen during normal play while others you have to go out of your way for. As you complete them, you'll be able to view the challenges surrounding the one you completed. You may have seen something similar before, as they used the same idea in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Kid Icarus: Uprising. Certain challenges will even unlock new colored Kirbies, levels, music for sound test, and vehicles. So between the checklists and making your own challenges among friends, there is really a lot of fun to be had in this game.

As for the graphics, they are crisp, clean, and colorful and look great in progressive scan mode. Also, the music is fantastic and contains a combination of classic Kirby music, music from the anime, and original music composed and arranged by the same composers who worked on Super Smash Bros. Melee. Kirby Air Ride was also the first Game Cube game to support LAN play via broadband adapters and up to four other consoles, something which I've never tried, but which still only allows four players total and only divides them between multiple TVs.

The Final Word

Kirby Air Ride may be lacking in content, but the core game that's there is a blast to play, especially with friends. If you enjoy going after achievements and making your own fun, this game is probably for you. In any case, if you haven't played it, you should definitely check it out.