We Were Never Going Back To Kanto

     Sun and Moon came out during Pokemon's 20th Anniversary. With it's release we had a ton of call backs to the original Red and Blue games. We got to see a ton of generation 1 pokemon all throughout Alola along with Alolan forms of some of them, Alola, having its own variation of nugget bridge even re-enacting the time you had to fight trainers and a Team Rocket grunt at the end, and even fighting Red and Blue at Battle Tree. You even were treated a Machoke stomping the land flat in Sun and Moon's demo.
     So with all of these nods back to the gen 1 games, a trailer, a lot of fans were hopeful that with Sun and Moon's release we were going to take a journey back to the Kanto region a la Gold and Silver. Right? Wrong. Sun and Moon came out and it looks like *spoilers* the only one taking a trip to Kanto was Lillie in the game's ending. Ultra Moon and ultra Sun are on its way and Kanto journey hopefuls that wouldn't let the dream die got hopeful again with a screenshot where it looks like you would be back in Lt. Surge's gym and even Mega Sun and Mega Moon will be featuring Team Rocket grunts to name even more callbacks. Later it turns out it's just a new area in one of the towns in Alola. So, the dream died and people are sad that they won't be going back to the land that started it all. Should they?
     The only game that ever had you go back to a region from a previous game was Gold and Silver. And the only reason behind that was probably because Jhoto was a region literally across from Kanto. After Gold and Silver you only stayed in the current region and never went back to the previous one. You were treated however to some references to other regions and even some events that happened from past games. They've never broke away from this in the other generations so it wouldn't make sense to do it in this current generation even if it was the 20th anniversary. Nintendo and the Pokemon Company wants you to focus on Alola and there's nothing wrong with that.
     And even if they did decide to take you back to Kanto, it most likely wouldn't be the Kanto we all would remember. According to the timeline, yes there is a timeline, Sun and Moon takes place years after Red and Blue. Again, we see this now with Red and Blue being adults. We may not recognize towns and different places in Kanto if we ever went back. We may not even see the same characters and gym leaders. A lot has changed in Kanto during the events in Gold and Silver since we last been there three years ago. Cinnabar Island is gone, The Pokemon tower in Lavender town was changed from a spooky pokemon cemetery to not so spooky radio tower, and Blue and Janine took over gym leader duties in place of Koga and Giovanni (who is still on the run). It's maybe best to remember Kanto the way it was.

E3 2017: What Didn't Suck

So another E3 has come and gone. We had a ton of stuff to see, but want to know what's good? Want to know what didn't suck Donkey Kong balls? What to spend or save up for this fall or next year? I made a little list that showcases what was really cool. Enjoy.

Assassin's Creed: Origins

The latest game of the Assassin's Creed series looks to be an epic. Set in Egypt the game is set to go all the way back to the beginning, if the tittle doesn't tell you that already. The gameplay is tweaked a bit different this time adding more RPG-esque elements to the classic style we're used to. Gameplay shows that you'll use animals as well as the main character uses a hawk to scout the area.

Shadow of the Colossus

One of the best games of the PS2 is being remade and it is being remade in updated glorious graphics. The first one was a masterpiece so other than the graphics, there is nothing else they need to change. Hopefully it doesn't take 12 years for this to come out like The Last Guardian.

Days Gone

We saw another glimpse of Days Gone this time. Last year we saw just zombies hordes. A massive collection of zombies. This year we get a larger look of the world in this game. Zombies aren't the only bad guys you encounter as you also have to fight off marauders as well. In the gameplay demo, you see just that as they set off a booby trap to try to kill you. Luckily you can craft up traps or even use zombies to set things up and turn the tables around and make yourself the trapper. You can also get work from maurader camps as quests to go further on in the game. What is also unique is that levels change making certain encounters different as you play. There is a lot going on in this game.

Dragonball Fighter Z

I know, a Dragonball Z fighting game that is worth playing? I know they are all basically the same and they grow like weeds each year, bu this game is different. The art style is really impressive as it flows like you're watching the anime. It's 2D but at times it switches to 3D. It looks really stunning. so button mashing or no button mashing to win aside, there's that.

Metro Exodus

The third entry in the series. You've played the other two so what's different? The game has been described as sandbox horror in contrast to the other games meaning that you will have more non-linear levels compared to the linear ones in the past games. Along with this it's in beautiful 4k so kill mutant animals in high definition!

Doom VR

Doom was a pretty awesome game so what would be better? Playing it in not just VR but, VFR. I'm sure the F stands for fun, I think...

Crackdown 3

We finally get another Crackdown game. So, everything you love about the last crackdown game you'll love in this as everything is done on a grander scale. Grander abilities for agents, grander cel-shaded art style, and more explody goodness. Oh, and Terry Crews is in it so that's not bad.

Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus

Wolfenstein is back! Everyone rejoice, except Nazis. This game looks like it will be more fun than blowing up a barrel of Hitlers.

Beyond Good and Evil 2

This game is back from development Hell. All we got was a trailer, but then again a sure sign that this game is not in the scrapheap is all we need.

Destiny 2

We saw a bit more of Destiny 2. It's not going to be identical to the first Destiny. This time around there will be some tweaks. First off is that the newly revamped weapon system. Weapons will be classified as Kinetic, Energy, and Power weapons. This beef up other weapons as the Scout rifle and the grenade launcher so you can not only customize, but experiment using other weapons in the mix. Bungie seems to be very concerned to fixing a lot of issues with the first Destiny and making improvements. We can't wait to see the finish product when it comes out.

Vampyr

We saw Vampyr last E3 and we get to see it again for this one, joy! So for those who don't know, Vampyr is a action role playing game where you are a recently turned vampire doctor in old London. Like all action role-playing games, you have decisions that change the course of gameplay. What sets it apart from the others is how you level up in the game, feeding off of the citizens of London. As which choices and consequences you can kill and gain vampiric powers, but risk vampire hunters and London on your ass along with other vampires. You do have the option to not kill anyone in the game, but this raises the difficulty in the game and fighting off your enemies as well.

Everything Nintendo

Nintendo really came with their A-game this E3. It seems that even before their E3 digest they were giving us great goodies like the Mario and Rabbids game and a peak at the Switch version of Skyrim. When it came for them to finally show what they had in store for us it was worth it. We got a demo of Super Mario Odyssey which looks glorious. Inspired by the exploration and creativity of Super Mario 64 and Sunshine it looks like won't disappoint us. Splatoon 2 looks like it will be better than the first. New Kirby. New Yoshi. Also if that didn't have you excited just yet, not only do we have one Metroid game coming up, but we have TWO with Metroid Prime 4 in the works.

WTF Are Ultra Beasts: A Theory

 

     Pokemon Sun and Moon are mere days away from being released worldwide and the game looks like it is loaded with tons of goodies. Z-Moves, Alolan forms of classic Pokemon, revamping classic game mechanics like HMs and Gym Leader battles with Trials and Poke Rides. This is a lot to take in from one game. One of the biggest feature in this is also its biggest secret, the Ultra Beasts.

     With the game only days away we still have no clue on what exactly who they are. The only information they have given us is that the are "really powerful creature that could pose a threat to both pokemon and humans" and due to data mining we know that we are able to catch them. But exactly what are they? 

     With the ones that haven been revealed so far, we see that some of them look like characters from the game. UB-01 looks like Lillie, UB-02 Beauty looks like Lusamine, and UB03 - Lightning does looks like Guzma. UB-05 Gluttony does look like the new pokemon WishiWashi's school form. Hypothetically you could suspect that the Ultra Beasts are creatures that are made up of human and pokemon DNA. This isn't new to the series, at least not new to the manga series. In the Pokemon Adventures manga Mewtwo was made up partially of Team Rocket scientist and Gym Leader Blaine's DNA. If this theory is partially right, this leads to the question, who made them?
     There are two possibilities. The first one is Team Skull. We don't know what Team Skull's true intentions in Sun and Moon might be, but it might be more than just being gangsters in Alola, especially since they are at odds with the Aether foundation which is doing research on Ultra Beasts and where they come from. Another possibility on who created them is the unkown legendary pokemon that was revealed in the latest issue of CoroCoro last week. The unkown pokemon does bear a striking resemblance to the Ultra Beasts. Going back to what I said earlier, with Team Skull, and basically every villainous team in the series since Ruby and Sapphire,  this could be their intentions in the game to create their own pokemon using this unknown pokemon. What also supplies this theory is that one of the members in Team Skull, Gladion, has new pokemon Type-Null which seems to be a genetically man made pokemon almost in the same way Mewtwo and Genesect were man-made as well. It is almost named the same way as the Ultra Beasts are.
    These may be theories (wild guesses actually) and nothing is concrete but we will probably find out when Pokemon Sun & Moon comes out November 18th.

     

Will People Switch Over to the Nintendo Switch?

     After a long period of guessing, speculation, and really ridiculous rumors we have finally caught a glimpse of the NX, oops I mean the new Nintendo Switch. It didn't disappoint. The rumors of it being a hybrid of a console and handheld were true. You can disattach and take it with you anywhere from cars, flights, and even take it with you to play with you and your friends after playing a real game of basketball and reattach it to the modem at home. The controller looks pretty awesome as well as you can connect it like a old school controller or take it apart and use it like a Wiimote. You can even connect it to the Switch Pad and play games just like the Wii U screen. Yes things look really cool but will all of this'll ad to the Switch flying off the shelves? Will it get people to put down their PS4 and Xbox One controllers and Switch over to the Switch?
     It does look like a big step up from the Wii U which is already a good thing. It is apparent that the Wii U's launch and run was more of a fizzle than a big explosion. At first it wasn't anything that was setting it apart from the Wii other that a game pad. But the it would take more than technology to get people to buy the Switch. It needs games.
     One of the big problems Nintendo had with the Wii U, was its library of games during its launch. It didn't have enough solid game titles to get consumers to buy. Third party games were even worse as we barely had those during launch. They were in a drought for a couple of years until they had to revamp their marketing strategy.
    Fortunately for Nintendo, they are well aware of this issue they had with game title, especially third party ones and are making a system that encourages third party companies to want to work with the Switch and third party developers do want to work with the system. People are also excited based on only a snippet of what the Switch has to offer. Again, the technology look great but it doesn't matter if you don't have games that people want to play, especially at the launch period. It's great Nintendo is well aware of this and have a strategy to make sure we have some good games to play right from the start. It does have potential for it to be huge. It will be a waste if Nintendo squanders its chances by not backing it up with the right amount of effort to make sure it does well. It is expected to sell 2 million at launch if the demand is well deserved. We'll see if whether people are going to switch over to the Switch.

What do you think?
   

Did Paper Mario Sticker Star Really Suck?

     The latest entry in the Paper Mario series, Color Splash has been out for a while and the response has been very, colorfully bright. People have seemed to be recepting the game very well. Complimenting the game has giving the series a fresh paint job by having fun and witty writing, creative gameplay, and puzzles that are just as fun. Some fans have been saying that this has been a breath of fresh air and the most fun Paper Mario game in a while, especially to past games in the series, including the one in this topic Sticker Star.

     Most games often have a black sheep in the series. Zelda had Zelda II, Metroid had the recent Prime Federation Force, and Final Fantasy had everything post the PS era. For this series from word of mouth it would have to be Sticker Star. Is Sticker Star worth of the the hate?
    I personally played it, am playing it and I have no problems with the game whatsoever. I like the battle gameplay where it sorta went back to its RPG roots where you would go into a turn-based battle, this time being decisive and using strategy of what stickers to use and the thing stickers were witty and clever. But why the hate? If you could pin it on something, maybe because of the battle gameplay. It was something completely new. The original Paper Mario was completely RPG, which they changed with Super Paper Mario and they drastically changed again with Sticker Star and Color Splash. It was completely different from the original Paper Mario gameplay which instead of it just being turn based, you need to have a set of stickers to actually fight and progress.
     Of course Sticker Star wasn't perfect. Some people may had trouble solving some of its puzzles as others and the humor was a little light compared to past Mario RPGs. Despite that Sticker Star wasn't really that bad or at least bad enough to get the hate that it gets. It is still to some degree enjoyable.          Going back to what I said earlier, it was a big change for the series and maybe that is why people wasn't receptive of it at first. Luckily people have come around to Color Splash as it perfected the gameplay in Sticker Star. It's also a nice for them to step up on the humor that made the Paper Mario series great.

Is The NX Nintendo's Last Chance For A Good Console?

     The NX is probably the biggest secret Nintendo is keeping right now. Since the past two years of what we've heard it being announced we know absolutely nothing about it. Also every bit of information from it has been rumors so far. Nothing legit or official. They have chosen not to reveal anything about it in the past E3 and more recently this Nintendo Direct happening today. You can kinda makes sense of Nintendo being reclusive. They're trying to do something extraordinary. And they kinda need it.
     What isn't a secret is the underperformance of the Wii U and the 3DS. Not that many people bought the Wii U. It is low even compared to the its console rivals the Xbox One and PS4. They did many attempts to try to boost up sales and it did somewhat work, but the company has still faced revenue lost for a few years. With this failure of the Wii U, and once upon a time the Gamecube, Nintendo is starting to repeat the previous failures of their former rivals Sega. In a recent interview with Alistdaily, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has said that one of the problems with the Wii U's failure was not successfully demonstrating the Wii U's software capabilities with consumers.
     If they don't think of it as their last console, then they ought to. Nintendo cannot afford another failure console. Fortunately they are aware of the issue they are facing. In the same interview Fils-Aime further stated:

"One of the things that we have to do better when we launch the NX—we have to do a better job communicating the positioning for the product. We have to do a better job helping people to understand its uniqueness and what that means for the game playing experience. And we have to do a better job from a software planning standpoint to have that continuous beat of great new games that are motivating more and more people to pick up the hardware and more and more people to pick up the software."

     It is apparent that a lot is riding on the NX's success so it is understanding that they are taking their time to officially announce things. They're making sure everything is perfect and the NX raises standards and expectations. Whether things come out perfect or people are willing to buy the NX will be determined when we Nintendo finally announce what the console can do.

Nintendo's 2016 Plans: A 1-Up or A Game Over?

     Nintendo has had a pretty stellar couple of years. The most stellar was probably their 2015. With a constant release of awesome games, along with awesome DLC and  Amiibos being a huge thing, it would be almost crazy for Nintendo to slow things down. Luckily they aren't.

      The current president of the company, Tatsumi Kimishima, is promising that 2016 will be a big year for Nintendo. He is making some pretty huge promises five to be exact that will help improve the companies sales and content. Right off the bat, he is promising to be very big on smartphone gaming as well as branching into other media like TV and anime. The president is also promising to try new concepts and new ideas instead of sticking to old ones. Nintendo is really thinking outside of the box, the console box.
     Nintendo's theme for 2016 seems to new, which is great. For a company to survive and stay as productive and relevant over the years it is important to always try to come up with new ideas. It keep s things fresh and it keeps people interested. In Nintendo's case, it was needed. Again, most of 2013 through 2015 was them trying to help improve Wii U and 3DS sales. The low sales of the Wii U and the 3DS were a product of using old outdated methods of marketing. Luckily Nintendo understood that and have made improvements and sale improvements were shown.
     There are a couple of things I'm excited for with seeing Nintendo's mission plan for 2016. One is the expansion of games in smartphones. Mobile gaming has not only become a huge trend but it has made itself known to  be a new form of gaming that is here to stay. We've seen this, sadly, with Kim Kardashian Hollywood and the over 200 million dollars it made. It's is a smart move for Nintendo to utilize this. Kimishima has promised that we will see Nintendo characters in mobile games. We sorta was introduced to this with Pokemon Go which is coming out this year, hopefully.
      Another is information about the next console Nintendo is working on, the NX. It is suppose to be the hub of what Nintendo is striving for this year as it is rumored to be connected to the internet, handheld, PCs, and smartphone. We are suppose to get information around E3, but since they seem to be planning on releasing it this year as well we need the information on it now.
      Bottom line it is refreshing and interesting to hear that Nintendo is going to do some big and innovative things that are new and very different. Will it work? There is a huge chance that it will as well as a huge chance that it won't. The good thing however is that Nintendo is gambling big. The 2016 plan is suppose to give them if it is pulled off an extra 100 billion yen. Let's see if that will happen in the end.

How do you think Nintendo's plan will work out in 2016?

Characters We Probably Won't See As DLC in Super Smash Bros... Maybe

     It's December which could mean only one thing, no not Christmas, the Super Smash Bros themed Nintendo Direct is almost here. Nintendo announced that for the month of December, there will be a Nintendo Direct dedicated to Super Smash Bros. We could be treated to new characters or new stages for upcoming DLC. Since the recent announcement of Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII being added to the roster, you could almost add any popular character to the list, that's ever been on a Nintendo console or handheld, almost. While these characters might be cool to be added, they most likely won't. Goku and Shreik need not apply.


King K. Rool

 

If you don't know King K. Rool was the main antagonist for the Donkey Kong country series as well as Donkey Kong 64. He would torment the Kong family by stealing DK's bananas in the first game and would later on kidnap DK and Diddy in the later sequels. In Donkey Kong 64 he even went so far as to threaten to blow up Donkey Kong's home DK Island. When Rare was purchased by Microsoft that was the last we've seen of K. Rool and his Kremling klan, I mean clan, as the more recent Donkey Kong games moved on to more enemies that DK had to defeat. So, when Smash Bros was released for the 3DS, we were treated with seeing some familiar characters returning, the Kremlings in Smash Run. With the inclusion with Kremlings, it would seem more likely that their ruler would be making a long deserved comeback since Donkey Kong 64, right. Well he did, as a costume for the Mii brawler. Since K. Rool's appearance had been reduced to a costume, it is most likely that he might not be added.

Crash Bandicoot


Yes, the former Sony mascot has been in a couple Nintendo titles. Crash and Mario had an intense rivalry during the late 90s and early millennium as both of them adventured into 3D for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64. His inclusion would have been huge as their rivalry during those times almost as big as Sonic's who is in the game. As with all things popular they become unpopular and the Crash series fizzled out with lower sales. We haven't seen Crash in anything since his last game in 2010 so we most likely won't see him in Smash either.

Banjo-Kazooie


If you were a kid in the early 00s and didn't have Banjo-Kazooie for the N64, your parents didn't love you. Banjo-Kazooie were characters in their own game during Rare's golden era of making games for the N64. Them being added like a lot of the characters here would be just for nostalgia reason, which are justifiable. They had a ton of games that made for Nintendo before Microsoft bought Rare. For that reason, they are most likely not going to be added unless Microsoft wants to loosen their grip and loan them out for a while?

Heihachi Mishima


Unlike the other characters listed, Heihachi, and other Tekken characters were actually considered to appear in Smash Bros, but due to software limitations during the developing stages for Smash Bros on the 3DS, as well as Masahiro Sakurai not know what to do for a movelist, Heihachi was dropped. That's probably why we got Ryu instead. Sakurai did give him a nod by making him a costume for the Mii fighter instead.

Ridley


OMG, he is not going to be in the game as a playable character. Give it up!

This Is A Linkle/Female Link Post

     A while back we were introduced to a "new" character for the up and coming Hyrule Warriors Legends game for the Nintendo 3DS, Linkle. Up until Linkle's debut she was just a concept art for the Hyrule Warrriors game. She was believed and written to be a female version of Link, the protagonist of the Legend of Zelda series. Now that she's an offical character in the game, Linkle is more of her own established character instead of being the female version of Link. This isn't more about Linkle's, but what she represented before she was made a full fledged character.
    Linkle represented an interesting ideal that whether the protagonist Link in the Zelda could be female. If you are new to the Zelda series the games and the Hyrule timeline spans across years with a new a different incarnation of the main characters Lunk and Princess Zelda. In almost each game you have a different Link and Zelda. This was introduced to the game Skyward Sword where Zelda was the reincarnation of the goddess Hylia and at the end of game both Link and Zelda's souls were destined to be reincarnated whenever Hyrule is in trouble. Linkle leads to a interesting theory that there could be a female incarnation of the

legendary hero. 

     It was a rumor that around Linkle's discovery as a concept art for Hyrule Warriors that the incarnation of Link that would be introduced in the upcoming Zelda Wii U game could possibly be a woman. The question is if Nintendo decided to switch the character of Link, and possibly Zelda, would it be a good decision?

     If Link was a woman in a possible Zelda game, it would be in fact good. Story wise, it would be interesting. It has never been said that the spirit of the hero has to be passed down to a male incarnation. It could add more to the Zelda mythology of the spirit of the hero being passed down to one person to another. It would be great as it would breathe new life to the supposed characters. It would be interested to see a Prince Zel and a female Link interact with the threat that could affect Hyrule.

     It could be important as it could symbolize what the character Link is suppose to be. Link is suppose to represent the link between him and the player. It is apparent that more women are playing video games as a hobby. It would be good for a girl who is new to not only video games, but new to the Zelda series to be able to play as a character that represents her.

What do you think about having a female Link in a Zelda game?

Pulling the Plug on the PlayStation Vita's Successor Part 2: Should Sony Quit Handheld?

     If you haven't read my post last week, number one, shame on you here's a link and number two I'll give you a brief explanation if you're too lazy to click, again shame on you! It was recently announced that Sony will not be making a successor to the PlayStation Vita. In the last post I gave reasons why the decision was obvious. To keep it short, it all came down to sales, lack of quality games and exclusives, and basically Sony sweeping it under the rug. Yes, Sony is done with making handheld console and games, but should they?  Welcome to part 2.
     Again, the Vita turned out to be a huge bust, but if they wanted, Sony could've tried again with the next system. If you want to look at Sony not giving up and do a successor to the Vita, you can look at it from Sony's rival Nintendo. Nintendo has had its list of failures as well as successes. You can't forget the Virtual Boy which was the company's biggest failure to date. The Wii U and 3DS even started out badly. Both suffered lack of sales compared to their predecessors and a good line of games to play at the start. It wasn't until Nintendo decided to launch a series of campaigns to help turn things around and boost sales did just that. There have been a increase of sales of sales for the Wii U and 3DS in the past year.

     But let's look at things from a realistic view. Sadly there is no place for Sony in the handheld market anymore. Nintendo still dominates the handheld market. Mobile gaming is on the rise. Sony, sadly has become a relic. From a techonlogical stance, there isn't anything Sony can do to keep up. They did try to do something with touch screen technology but it ended up looking and feeling awkward. It is obvious that Sony has decided to focus on other things as well. Again like Nintendo, they could;ve turned things around of they wanted to, but the truth was and is that they didn't and they saw it as pointless to do so and move on.

What are your thoughts on the subject. Should Sony make another handheld system?

Pulling the Plug on the PlayStation Vita's Successor Part 1: Why The Vita Failed

Handheld Gaming. It was and, in some ways due to mobile gaming, is a huge thing. I, myself prefer playing handheld games compared to games on console for the sole purpose that I can go anywhere. From anyplace in the city to anyplace in the house, I can play games. We have come a long way from when the Game Boy came out where we had to play an 8-bit game on a tiny screen, IN PROPER LIGHTING to systems like the Vita with amazing graphics and in 3D like the Nintendo 3DS. It's amazing to see how things can go in the future, except with the Vita...
     If you haven't heard, over the weekend it has been announced that there will be no successor to the PlayStation Vita. As shocking as it seems, not really, there are reasons why it probably wasn't a hard decision as to why Sony decided to pull the plug on making another PlayStation handheld.
     Let's start with the most important, sales. Sales is the huge factor as to why we will not have a successor. When the Vita first came out, it sold over 325,000 units in Japan, which was ok, but sales started to slump in the following weeks. Overall, in the first quarter, February 2012, it has sold 1.2 million units worldwide and over 2 million in software, compared to the PSP's 2.2 million in 2007, but most importantly short compared to the Nintendo 3DS' 3.61 million in its first quarter. Sales continued to go down for the Vita after its first year. As of now, it has sold approximately 4 million from its launch to December 2014 compared to its rival the 3DS' 53 million (17 million in 2014) and its predecessor the PSP's 80 million.
      The second is the probably the second most important, games. The Vita did not have a strong library of games to play. They didn't have that many exclusives that people wanted to play. What they had to offer nobody wanted and what they tried to get they couldn't deliver. What they had you could've played on the console games and were much better versions. Why would you play Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD on the Vita when you can get it in better resolution on the PS4? Having games, importantly a strong exclusive gaming library is important to get people to solely play that system. Nintendo has learned this when the Wii U suffered in its earlier years when it had nothing to play and noticed sales picked up when they finally gave us an abundance of games to play later on.
      Lastly, Sony did not care. They barely did any marketing for the Vita and the games they had to offer. When sales kept plummeting, they barely did anything to help pick things up. At least with Nintendo and the 3DS' sales which were less than the DS's managed to turn things around with doubling down on pushing the system out and giving us better titles to play with. Sony just did nothing hoping that people will eventually play the Vita and just quietly pushed it under the rug when less and less people picked it up.
      We know why it probably was a good decision for Sony to pull out of the handheld game and not make a successor. Another question could be despite how the Vita fared, should they? That's for Part 2. Stay tuned.

     What do you think contributed to the PlayStation Vita's demise?

Super Smash Bros 3DS/Wii U Alternate Costume Easter Eggs Part 4: The Final Meta Knight-mare Smash (Until the Mewtwo and Lucas DLC Comes Out...)

     Here we are folks the long awaited final (maybe not?) installment of alternate costume easter eggs in Super Smash Bros for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. As I stated before in the previous parts. you don't have to look at trophies and stages to see Nintendo's history. You can witness it in even the alternate costumes which are much more than just palette swaps and cool recolors. Here is part 4 of alternate costumes easter eggs for the characters of the recent installment of the series. Enjoy.

Bowser Jr.
All of Bowser Jr.'s alternate costumes are the Koopalings.

Dark Pit
Black: Default costume.
Green: Based on the color scheme of Immortal Phoenix.
Black 2: Loosely based on Magnus' color scheme from Kid Icarus: Uprising
Yellow:
Red: Based off of Twinbellows.
Blue: Based off of Pandora.
White: Based off of Pit.
Purple: Based off of the Great Reaper from Kid Icarus.

Duck Hunt
Orange: Default costume.
Black 1: Based off of a Rottweiler or Coonhound. Duck is based off of a blue duck.
Black 2: Based off of a Border Collie.
Brown 1: Based off of a Chocolate Labrador Retriever.
White: Based off of a Dalmatian.
Brown 2: Based off of a beagle. Duck is a female mallard.
Yellow: Based off of a Golden Retriever. Duck is a male mallard and which is also the black duck from the game.
Black 3: Duck is based off of red duck from the game.

Greninja
Blue: Default costume.
Red: Could be based off of a shiny Gyarados.
Pink: Based off of the color scheme of a Lickilicky.
Black: a shiny Geninja.
Purple 1: The color scheme of a Spiritomb.
Green: Could be based off the color scheme of a splendid leaf frog, which the Pokemon is based off of
Grey:
Purple 2: Could be based off of a Haunter.

Lil Mac
Wire Frame: Based on his design in the arcade version of Punch Out.
Green: Default: Based off of his appearance in Punch Out Wii.
Yellow 1: Based on his Title Defense Mode appearance in Punch Out Wii.
White: Based on his appearance after defeating opposing boxers in Punch-Out!! for NES. Could also be based off of Piston Hondo's attire.
Blue 1: Based off of his appearance in World Circuit in Punch Out Wii.
Blue 2: Based off of his appearance when fighting in the Major Circuit in Punch Out Wii.
Yellow 2: Based off of his Player 2 appearance in Punch Out Wii.
Black: Based on his appearance in Super Punch Out.
Pink: Based on his pink jumpsuit in the training montages in the original Punch Out. The wire frame switches the colors.

Lucina
Blue: Default costume. Based off of her appearance as a Lord
Green: Based off of Nowi's color scheme in Fire Emblem: Awakening.
Black: Based off of Cherche's color scheme in Fire Emblem: Awakening.
Red: Based off of Chordillia's color scheme in Fire Emblem: Awakening.
Pink: Based off of Tiki's appearance in Fire Emblem: Awakening.
Yellow: Based off of Lissa's appearance in Fire Emblem: Awakening.
Black 2: Based off of Tharja's appearance in Fire Emblem: Awakeing.
Pink 2: Based off of Sumia's appearance in Fire Emblem: Awakening.

Mega-Man
Blue: Default costume.
Red: Based on the coloration when using 1, 2, and 3 items in Mega Man 2. Also based off of using the Rush Coil in Mega Man 3.
Green: Based off the coloration when using the Hyper Bomb in the first game as well as Leaf Shield in Mega Man 2.
Brown: Based off of the coloration when using the Metal Blade in Mega Man 2 and the Ring Boomerang in Mega Man 4.
Light Blue: Based off of the coloration when using the Air Shooter from Mega Man 2, Blizzard Attack from Mega Man 6, and Freeze Cracker from Mega Man 7.
Light Green: Based off of the color palate when using the Slash Claw from Mega Man 7.
Red: Based off of the color palate when using Fire Storm from the original Mega Man as well as the Atomic Fire from Mega Man 2, the Flame Blast from Mega Man 6, and the Flame Sword from Mega Man 8.
Black: Based off of the color palate when using the Thunder Beam from the original Mega Man, as well as the Top Spin from Mega Man 3.

Pac-Man
Yellow: Default design. Based on his Japanese design on most arcade cabinets.
Blue: Boots are based on the magic boots from Pac-Land. Pads and wing color could be based off of Inky.
Yellow 2: Boots are based on the magic boots from Pac-Land. Pads and wing color could be based off of Kinky from Pac-Man Arrangement.
Black: Boots are based on the magic boots from Pac-Land. Pads and wing color could be based off of Spooky from Pac-Man World 2.
Purple: Boots are based on the magic boots from Pac-Land. Pads and wing color could be based off of Sue's appearance in Pac-Land.
White:
Brown:
Plaid:

Palutena
White: Default costume. Based off her appearance in Kid Icarus: Uprising.
Pink: Based off of her sprite in Kid Icarus.
Purple: Based off of Amazon Pandora's color scheme from Kid Icarus Uprising.
Green: Could be based off of Medusa's NES sprite in Kid Icarus.
Blue: Pandora's color scheme from Kid Icarus: Uprising.
Red: Based off of Virid's color scheme from Kid Icarus: Uprising.
Black: Based off of Dark Pit's color scheme from Kid Icarus: Uprising.
Purple 2: Based off of Medusa from Kid Icarus: Uprising.

Robin
Black: Default costume. Both the first and second male and female avatars from Fire Emblem: Awakening.
Green: Based off of Abel's color scheme from Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryu to Hikari no Tsurugi.
Red: Based off of Anna's color scheme from Fire Emblem: Awakening.
Blue: Based on the Avatar from Fire Emblem: Shin Monshō no Nazo ~Hikari to Kage no Eiyū~.
Yellow: Based off of Evayle from Fire Emblem: Thracia 776.
White: Resembles a White Mage from the Final Fantasy series. Could be based off of Azel from Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War.
Pink: Based off of Serra's color scheme from Fire Emblem.

Rosalina and Luma

Light Blue: Default costume.

Pink: Based off of Princess Peach. May also be based off of a Hungry Luma.

Yellow:  Based off of a normal Luma.

Green: May be based off of a Trial Galaxy Luma.

Red: Based of of Fire Rosalina from Super Mario 3D World

Purple: Based off of a Lubba or the Lumacomète.

Black: Based off of the color scheme of a Power Star.

White: Based off of Fire Peach from Super Mario 3D World or Peach's NES sprite from Super Mario Bros. Could also be based off of her younger appearance in Super Mario Galaxy.

Shulk
Red: Default costume. Based on his default Colony armour from Xenoblade Chronicles.
White: Based on Fiora's color scheme.
Black: Based on Dunban's color scheme.
Orange: Based on Reyn's color scheme.
Blue: Based on Sharla's color scheme.
Purple: Based on Melia's color scheme.
Yellow: Based on Riki's color scheme.
Black 2: Sh ulk with light armour.

Villager
Red: Default costume. Wearing the No. 1 Shirt,
Pink: Wearing the Daisy Shirt.
Yellow: Wearing the Racer 6 Tee.
Green: Wearing the Turnip top.
Light Blue: Wearing the Blue Tie-dye Tee.
Blue: Wearing the Rugby Tee.
Purple: Wearing the Four-ball Tee
Light Green: Wearing the Yellow Bolero.

Wii Fit Trainer
Blue: Default costume. Based of the male and female appearances in Wii Fit. The female trainer's hair is based on Wii Fit Plus.
Green: Based on the male and female designs in Wii Fit Plus and Wii Fit U.
Red: Based on design of male and female trainers in the Aerobics category activities.
Yellow: Based on the design of trainer in Balance activities. Also loosely based on outfit in Wii Fit Plus when Yoga or strength training is done in My Wii Fit Plus mode.

If I missed anything, want to add something or would like to address if I make any corrections, please feel free to comment.

Nintendo and DeNA: A Smart Move?

     Earlier this week we learned that Nintendo is making a partnership with DeNA in order to make games for smartphones. That's right! Nintendo is starting to make games for your smartphone. Director and president of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata stated:
     "One of my goals here is, now that we are challenging ourselves with this endeavor by making use of Nintendo IP, to produce multiple hit titles at an early stage after we start releasing our software on smart devices. Also, until now, when we said, “platform,” it meant a specific video game platform. Now that we are going to release games on smart devices and make use of globally widespread PCs and smart devices for our new membership service, we would like to offer more consumers with software that is suited to their tastes. In other words, we are challenging ourselves to redefine what “Nintendo platforms” mean."
     This means that soon you will be able to play Zelda or Super Mario on your iPhone. Aside from just releasing games on smartphones, Nintendo will be using its partnership with DeNA to create a membership service that will connect all devices, smart devices and game consoles. Meaning that you could have ccontent that could connect your 3DS, Wii U, or even the new Nintendo NX they announced as well this week with your iPhone or iPad. There have been some indications in the past that Nintendo will be doing this or that they were testing the waters. Not too long ago, we had Nintendo announcing they would be releasing a Mario Kart 8 app on smartphones weeks before the game came out. We also have a crossover with Mario and the popular Puzzle and Dragon series in Japan which will be coming here to the US in the near future.
      Whether or not you feel that this will help Nintendo, this was a decision that they desperately needed to make. It was no secret that Nintendo was facing some problems over the past years. The company has reported financial loss for the past three consecutive year due to the Wii U and the 3DS underperforming.Super Smash Bros, the Majora's Mask remake, and Mario Kart 8 Nintendo did well. They brought up sales Wii U and Nintendo 3DS sales as well as help sell the New Nintendo 3DS, but it is still not enough. Nintendo needs to do more to get them back to the top again.
There's a great chance that this could work for Nintendo. Here in the states, with games like Flappy birds and even the game from her whom we shall not speak of, mobile gaming is becoming a new medium to play games almost like handheld was years ago. This is more evident in Japan with the success of mobile games like Puzzle Dragon. We've come a long way from Minesweeper on you old Nokia phone. Nintendo sees this is becoming a big thing and know that this is where they need to go. It will be interesting to see that they are thinking forward on doing something like this. They are excited to go further with DeNA, hoping that there will be a mobile game at the end of the year. Whether or not it will work, we will have to see.

What are your thoughts on Nintendo and DeNA's partnership. Will it work for Nintendo?

Super Smash Bros. 3DS/Wii U Alternative Costumes Easter Eggs 2: Pikachu's Electric Boogaloo

Welcome to the long awaited Part 2 of Super Smash Bros 3DS/Wii U Easter Egg alternate costumes. To recap, Super Smash Bros for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U has a ton of Easter Eggs and history. These are not just limited to trophies and stages. The history of Nintendo games can be found in the alternate costumes of certain characters. In Part 1 I did the original 12 characters from Super Smash Bros 64. In Part 2, I will do the characters that debuted in Melee. Enough talk let's get into it shall we.

Bowser

Orange 1: Default costume

Brown: Possibly based on Morton Koopa Jr.'s old appearance in games

Yellow: Based off of the golden Bowser Statue in Super Mario World. Bowser's shell is based off of Bowser when he is poisoned in Super Mario RPG.

Green: Based off of Bower's appearance in Super Mario World. Also could be based off of his appearance in the DIC Super Mario Bros cartoon, just with red hair. Could also be based off of his NES sprite in Super Mario Bros.

Grey: Based off of Morton Koopa Jr.'s current appearance. Could also reference Dry Bowser or Dry Bones.

Orange 2: Based off of Bowletta's color scheme from Mario and Luigi: Super Star Saga.

Red: Based off of either the Spiny or Red Koopa Troopa enimies from the Mario series.

Blue: Based off of Dark Bowser in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. could also be based off of the False Bowsers and Bowser's appearance in Super Mario Bros.'s international cover.

Peach

Pink: Default costume.

Yellow: Based off of Princess Daisy.

Red 1: Based off of Pauline. Also based off of Peach's fire dress in Super Mario RPG

Blue: Based off of Daisy's alternate dress in NES Open Tournament Golf. The crown is Rosalina's

Green: Based off of her alternate dress in NES Open Tournament Golf.

White: Referred to a Nurse Peach in Melee.

White 2: Based off of Fire Peach in Super Mario 3D World. Could also reference her 2D sprite in Super Mario Bros as well.

Black: Based off the color scheme of a Power Star.

Zelda

Purple 1: Based off of her appearance in Twilight Princess

Red: Based off of her appearance in Legend of Zelda as well as her sprite in Zelda II: Adventures of Link.

Blue: Based off of Marin from Link's Awakening.

Purple 2: Based off of Zelda's appearance in the Ocarina of Time. Her dress could also reference Princess Hilda's dress from A Link Between Worlds.

Green: Based off of her appearance in the game if Link saves her without any rings in Legend of Zelda.

Black: Dark Zelda. Based off of Dark Link from the Zelda series.

Pink: Based off of Zelda's royal clothes in A Link to the Past.

White: Based off of her field sprite in A Link to the Past. Could also be based off of Zelda's white dress from Skyward Sword.

Sheik

Blue 1: Default costume. Based on the unused concept art of her appearance in Twilight Princess.
Red: Based off of Zelda's sprite in Zelda II: Adventures of Link as well as Zelda's appearance in Legend of Zelda.
Purple 1: Based of of Sheik's appearance in Ocarina in Time
Purple 2: Based off of Zelda's color scheme in Ocarina in Time
Green: Could be based off of Saria in Ocarina in Time.
Black: Dark Sheik. Based off of Dark Link from the Zelda series
Orange: Could be based off of Malon's color scheme from Ocarina of Time. Could also be based on Zelda's sprite color from Oracle of Ages/Seasons.
White: Based off of Tetra from Wind Waker.

Dr. Mario

White: Default costume. Dr. Mario's classic appearance, but with black jeans.

Red: Based off of nurse scrubs.

Blue: Based off of doctor scrubs.

Green: Based off of surgeon scrubs.

Black: Referred in Melee as an "unlicensed doctor"

Yellow: Based off of nurse scrubs.

Purple: Based off of nurse scrubs.

Pink: based off of Nurse Toadstool from Dr. Mario.

Ganondorf

Black 1: Default costume.

Black 2: Ganondorf's "dark" costume. Based off of Dark Link from the Zelda series,

Blue 1: Could possibly based off of Vaati's color scheme in The Minish Cap.

Green: Based off of Link's appearance in The Legend of Zelda.

Red: Based off of Ganondorf's color scheme in Wind Waker,

Orange: Based off of the color scheme of Ganondorf's clothes in Ocarina of Time.

Purple: Based off of Zant in Twilight Princess

Blue 2: Based off of Ganon most notably his form in A Link to the Past and possibly Ocarina of Time.

Falco

White: Based off of his appearance in Star Fox: Command.

Orange: Based off of his jumpsuit in Star Fox SNES and Star Fox 64.

Blue: Based off of the color scheme of Crystal in Star Fox: Command. 

Red: Based off of Falco's appearance in Star Fox: Assault

Green: Could be based off of James McCloud's color scheme in Star Fox: Command

Black: Referred to as "Dark Falco" in Brawl.

Light Blue: Based off of his concept art for Star Fox.

Purple: Could possibly be based off of Katt Monroe's original appearance in Star Fox 64.

Mr Game & Watch

Black: Default costume.

Red: Based off of the Ball Game and Watch. Could also be based off of the Mario Bros. Game and Watch as well.

Yellow: Based off of the Mario the Juggler Game and Watch
Blue: Based off of the Fire Game and Watch

Light Blue 1: Based off of the Donkey Kong Jr. Game and Watch

Light Blue 2: Based off of the Super Mario Bros. Game and Watch

Green: Based off of the Zelda Game and Watch. Cold also be based off of the Judge Game and Watch as well.

Grey: Based off of the Nintendo DS, which was modeled after the Game and Watches. Cold oalso be based off of the Oil Panic Game and Watch.

Marth

Blue 1: Default costume.Based off of his appearance in Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem ~Heroes of Light and Shadow~.

Red: Based off of the enemy units' color scheme in Fire Emblem games.

Green: Based off of the neutral units' color scheme in Fire Emblem games. Could also be based on Abel from Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem.

Black: Could be based off of Camus from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light

White: Based off of Leif Faris Claus, the protagonist of Fire Emblem: Thracia 776

Blue 2: Based off of Marth's appearance in the official artwork of Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem

Yellow: A possible throwback to one of Roy's alternate costumes in Melee. Could also be based off of the color scheme of Ally units in some Fire Emblem games or Bors from Fire Emblem: Binding Blade.

Purple: Based off of Roy from  Fire Emblem: Binding Blade.

Part 3 will be coming soon. If you would like to add something or let me know if I made any mistakes, please let me know.