Super Mario Maker UPDATE! Plus, what we still want to see in the game!

Free update is now live!

Hot on the heels of my Super Mario Maker review (here), I wanted to follow up by taking a more in-depth look at the exact features missing from this fantastic game. From missing animations and power-ups to the inability to create sloped terrain, there are certainly some issues that stop Super Mario Maker from being the true Super Mario Bros creation tool it could be. Some are minor, but others are so glaring that they render the opportunity to recreate most of your favourite Super Mario Bros 3, Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros levels impossible. But just as I was about to post this article, news spread online of a free update from Nintendo that adds new content and fixes. I will cover these first before continuing! Now today, the patch is up for download (or yesterday if you live in the USA). I will take a quick look at what has been added before looking at the features we would like to see in future updates!

Review - Super Mario Maker (Wii U)

Celebrating your 30th birthday in style

It has been a long, long time since I have felt as excited about a game release as I have with Nintendo's brand new Mario creation title. Not since the days of my youth have I pre-ordered a game well in advance of it's release date and waited with baited breath for it to turn up on my doorstep, ready to be ripped open (well, very carefully opened anyway, this was a limited edition after all) and thrust into the console without delay. But this is no ordinary game, this is Super Mario Maker. 

Nintendo Wii U - My Favourite Current Gen Console & Why You Should Buy One

Nintendo - Still working their magic after 30 years!

This year I have owned and played on all three of the current generation of consoles - Sony's PS4, Microsoft's Xbox One and Nintendo's Wii U. Now, I will be the first to admit that 'modern' games have not be doing it for me for several years now. While, naturally, I still enjoy the smaller indie titles that appear on Steam and other machines (especially the PlayStation Vita), the main 'triple A' titles have left me cold. I have sat down and dedicated time to games such as GTA V, Assassins Creed : Black Flag, Far Cry 4, Drive Club, Forza Horizons 2 and Batman Arkham City, but all of them have felt uninspired, bland and, more importantly, not much fun to play. So, I have generally stuck to a mix of indie games, classic arcade games on MAME, and retro titles on platforms such as the Sega Saturn, SNES, N64, or whatever random console I have purchased that week.

REVIEW - Waimanu (Nintendo DS & GBA Homebrew)

Flightless wonder

I'm a sucker for any game featuring penguins (or ducks for that matter). I don't know why, but from Penguin Adventures on MSX and Penguin Land on the Master System, to the gluttonous shenanigans of Yume Penguin Monogatari on the Famicom, I have found the flightless fowl to bring a delightfully cute air to any game. Waimanu - named after a prehistoric form of penguin - continues this trend by featuring a super cute blue penguin with an apparent affliction of gigantism, such is the monsterous proportions of his forehead. Despite this handicap, he still manages to star in his very own homebrew puzzle game on the Nintendo DS and, more recently believe it or not, the Gameboy Advance. Waimanu is a single screen puzzler with a top down maze view, much like the original Sega penguin arcade game Pengo, released in 1982, in which you must push blocks of ice - and later bales of hay, or rocks , depending on the backdrop - into the enemy blobs that patrol the maze. Pushing a block will cause it to slide in that direction until it hits another block or the sides of the maze and, should any enemies stray into its path they will be squished - the annilhilation of all on-screen foes resulting in victory.

Retro Review - Mole Mania (Gameboy)

We're going deeper underground!

You have to feel sorry for poor old moles, not only do they have to contend with appalling vision, but they also risk getting beaten over the head with a shovel by an irate farmer every time they pop their fuzzy little heads above ground. As if this weren't bad enough, poor old Muddy Mole, star of this cutesy puzzle game on Nintendo's Gameboy, has to deal with his entire family being kidnapped by the oddly named farmer, Jinbei. Quite what a grown man wants to do with a load of mole pups is beyond me (probably best not to dwell on the possibilities), but the spiteful old bastard now holds them hostage and it is up to you to rescue them.

Retro Review - Guru Logic Champ (GBA)

Time for some more Japanese insanity now with a ker-azy puzzler on the Gameboy Advance. Guru Logic Champ's rather generic title belies the quirky characters and lunacy contained within the game. Once you have been introduced to the zany duck-like 'Champs' that make up the main protagonists, you are treated to some bizarre cartoon cutscenes that tell a story of how other oddball duck things from another planet have come to wreak havoc - but it would appear their idea of havoc is simply causing mild irritations such as stealing the tap from a public water fountain, or the battery from someone's kitchen extractor fan. So, how can you help these unfortunate souls return their lives to normality? Why, by performing block based puzzles in order to reveal a small picture of course!

Retro Review - Banishing Racer (Gameboy)

I like driving in my car!

Anyone who enjoys retro videogames (and I assume you wouldn't be reading this if you didn't) knows that the weirdest and wackiest games usually come from Japan – this is just considered a fact of life. You can always rely on the Japanese to produce a game with a bizarre storyline, strange characters and settings, and crazy game mechanics that will have you looking vacantly at the screen and thinking, WTF? ('text speak' purely used there to appeal to the 'youth market')

Review - ACTION 53 - Function 16 Volume ONE - NES Homebrew!

Don't Panic. There is no sign of Cheetahmen here!


Fantastic news for fans of the wonderful 8-bit Nintendo console. NES dedicated website 'Infinite NES Lives' have released a brand new NES cartridge featuring a large selection of homebrew NES games. Riffing on the name of the infamous Action 52 game,  Action 53 Function 16 Volume ONE "Streemerz Bundle" (to give it its full mouthful of a title) brings together many popular NES homebrew games that have surfaced over the last few years and slaps them together as a complete package for the first time. 

Classic Retro Game - Starfox (Super Nintendo) a Super-FX masterpiece

As Starfox is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, I thought it was high time I went back to this classic title and give it the thorough playthrough it deserves.

I am now writing this mere moments after launching my last remaining smart bomb deep into Andross' smug face and putting an end to his reign of terror once and for all. Destroying Andross, and beating Starfox, is something I have shamefully failed to do in the 20 years since I first set eyes on its mind-blowing faux-3D worlds. But after releasing my sweaty grip from the controller and watching the end credits, I can finally tick another classic SNES game off of my 'To-beat' list. A list that has recently seen Super Castlevania 4, Zelda : A Link To The Past, Pilotwings, and now Starfox struck off it.

The Legend of Zelda - A Link Between Worlds (3DS) - Video Trailer

News that a sequel to the Super Nintendo uber-classic, The Legend of Zelda : A Link To The Past, hit the interweb recently, and got everyone excited! The SNES game is one of the greatest games of all time and one I come back to time and time again thanks to it glorious 16-bit visuals, epic soundtrack, and exceptionally polished and fun gameplay. In my opinion, it has never been bettered by any further adventures of Link (and yes, I have played Ocarina of Time before you ask). The Minish Cap on GBA was an excellent adventure, as was Wind Waker on the Gamecube, but other than that, none have managed to grip me like the 3rd game in the series. But that could all change now, with the upcoming release of a 3DS exclusive sequel - now officially entitled A Link Between Worlds.

Looney Tunes (Gameboy)

So close, yet so far

Close, but no cigar. This is a phrase that perfectly encapsulates the greatness that Looney Tunes on the Nintendo Gameboy almost achieves.

First impressions are very good. The graphics are of a high standard, with large, clear sprites and detailed backgrounds, as well as some smooth, high speed scrolling. The music is catchy and jaunty as any good cartoon platformer soundtrack should be, and for the first few levels you will be impressed with the responsive controls and fun gameplay. Then you reach stage 5 and it all comes crumbling down.

Classic Game - Bubble Ghost (Gameboy)

Nintendo's original monochrome Gameboy was a huge success for many reasons; A long battery life, diminutive (for the time) size, and a huge collection of great games to play on it. It managed to see off the competition, even though many of these competitors boasted colour screens and even double the 'bits' (Atari's Lynx was a 16-bit powerhouse). Of course, Tetris helped. The puzzle phenomenon was a true pioneer of the casual games market that appealed to gamers of all sexes, ages and nationalities. Nowadays, handheld consoles have titles that are cut down versions of triple-A titles; the PS Vita has Uncharted, Assassins Creed and Call of Duty on it for God's sake. These new machines have forgotten what most gamers want from a handheld console – simple games that can be picked up and played by anyone and don't take 30+ hours to complete. This is why the mobile devices are such a hugely popular choice for gamers today - but the Gameboy got it right first time (way back in 1989) and, to this day, remains my favourite handheld console (well, the Gameboy colour would win, but only due to being backwards compatible with original GB titles).

Obscure Retro Gems - Whizz (Super Nintendo)

Whizz is a quirky isometric platform game that was released in 1995 on the Amiga and PC, then later on the SNES (in 1996), and the Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation (in 1997). There is supposedly an Amiga CD32 version. It is hard to find any trace of it online, yet people argue that it does exist and can even be downloaded. The version I am focusing on here is the Super Nintendo version. Released super late in the 16-bit console's lifespan, in 1996, it was overlooked by most SNES owners. But thanks to wonder of emulation, no game gets left behind. So I implore you to take Whizz for a spin and see what you missed out on first time around.

Classic Console - Nintendo Game Boy

GAME BOY MEMORIES

Whilst growing up I was lucky enough to own all 3 popular hand held consoles at one point or another. I remember playing Sonic The Hedgehog, Wonder Boy, and GG Shinobi on the Game Gear's bright colour screen. I can picture sitting on the living room floor of our old family home, tucked behind a sofa so I could be near to the power socket, playing Batman Returns and California Games on Atari's behemoth, the Lynx. But most of all I remember Nintendo's monochrome legend, the Game Boy. Like every other kid on the planet I owned one – even having a ridiculous carry case for it, complete with shoulder strap – and it went everywhere with me. It was like an extension of my own body, much like the way people seem to treat mobile phones today, except this was strictly for gaming only. And boy, what games they were. While the other two handholds had some great games, the Game Boy was my weapon of choice. I would play Super Mario Land and Revenge of The 'Gator religiously, and God forbid anyone should try to prize my cherished console from my hands while in the middle of a game.

Classic Game - Amazing Penguin (Game Boy)

Cutesy puzzlers and single screen arcade games are the perfect match for hand held consoles. When done well they offer short bursts of fun and head-scratching action that's perfectly suited to gaming on the move. Games like Amidar, Qix, Tetris, Bomb Jack, Bubble Bobble, Catrap and Boulderdash are all great examples of this. And so too is Amazing Penguin.

Developed by Natsume and released in 1990, Amazing Penguin is an exceptionally fun single screen arcade puzzler starring a cute Arctic bird wearing a beret. Why he is wearing such inappropriate head wear is unexplained, but I would imagine if he were a human character he would be called something very different from 'amazing'. It would still begin with an 'A' though.

Classic Game - Super Castlevania IV (Super Nintendo)

Since I spent the last feature article bashing the crappier side of the Super NES platforming genre, I feel I should rain some positivity down on the 16-bit wonder console. And what better way to do than so than to sink my teeth into two of the finest games for the system, Super Castlevania 4 and Zelda : A Link To The Past? I have recently reacquired both titles and am currently playing through them again. Firstly I will look at the whip cracking, bat whacking adventures of Castlevania.

Special Feature - The Ugly Side of Super Nintendo Platform Gaming

The Super Nintendo is home to some of the best examples of 2D platform games in existence. It is also home to an absolute deluge of shit that simply beggars belief. This week I decided to spend some time checking out a vast array of 2D platform games on the system with the intention of writing about any hidden gems I found. While I did find a few enjoyable titles lurking among the 30+ games I tried, I was quite taken aback by how many truly abysmal games are on SNES. I genuinely had no idea. I am familiar with the hundreds of terrible abominations on the NES, but for some reason I had assumed (incorrectly) that the SNES had upped the quality control and avoided a library consisted of hundreds of piss poor efforts. 

Maybe it was due to the fact that the SNES cartridges were pretty pricey back in the day, so I only got hold of the cream of the crop after doing my research via CvG, Super Play and Total magazine (remember, this was pre-internet) before hassling my parents to fork out for it. Thus my memories of the 16-bit Nintendo machine consisted of a glorious dream-like haze in which I frolicked through a sunny meadow with such lovable characters as Mario, Donkey Kong, Earthworm Jim, Link, Simon Belmont, the guy from Pilotwings and even the 3d rendered unicycles from Unirally.

THE RETRO GAMER'S HANDHELD OF CHOICE - DSi vs PSP

 THE RETRO GAMER'S HANDHELD OF CHOICE      

                               

Both the Nintendo DSi and the Sony PSP are getting on in years now, so what better time to pick up a cheap one and get yourself some homebrew and emulation in portable form.

In this feature I aim to compare the two to see how they stack up for the retro gamer who wants to play SNES or Arcade games on the train, or play some of the retail games that offer a retro experience.

Sure, there are great handhelds like the Dingoo, Caanoo, and the GP2X Wiz (and even the elusive Pandora). But for now I want to take a look at two consoles that are cheap, easily available, and have a great selection of exclusive games you won't find on the open source handhelds.

I was a bit of a late arriver with these handhelds. To be honest my preconceptions were that the PSP was home to mostly new games like Metal Gear Solid and such, games that didn't really interest me. The DSi, on the other hand, appeared too childish for my tastes and consisted mostly of pet sims and the like.