Mario Kart 64: Rainbow Road Trick

I came across this .gif today of a Wario player successfully jumping the gap on Rainbow Road in Mario Kart 64. If any of you are familiar with this game, you know that Nintendo likes to sneak in shortcuts on many of the different tracks. However out of all of them this one is probably the most difficult to actually pull off. On paper it seems fairly simple, you do a quick hop near the beginning of the track over the fence, and try to steer yourself towards the track floating on the other side of the abyss. If you do manage to make it, you have just pretty much guaranteed your victory, as Rainbow Road is one of the longest tracks in the game, and this shortcut lets you skip almost the whole track and puts you near the end of the first lap.

Beware though, as it is much, much harder to pull off than it looks. I usually try it every time my friends and I are playing, though much to my dismay (and their enjoyment) I never make it. The bitter irony of this whole trick is if you miss, it takes forever to be put back onto the stage, so you have pretty much guaranteed yourself last place instead of the comfortable first place lead you were hoping for.

Pokemon Trading Card Game coming to 3DS Virtual Console

First I just want to start off by saying I freaking love this game. If I had some way of counting exactly how many times I've replayed games this one would certainly be near the top of the list. The Pokemon Trading Card Game originally came out in 1998 in Japan and 2000 in the US for the GameBoy Color. It is a video game adaptation of the original Pokemon Trading Card Game, which was still immensely popular at the time. While I myself never quite got into the craze of the physical collectible card game, I was very much so into this video game. One of the reasons I loved it so much is that at its core it is a fairly simple game; you go around to different places and duel people with Pokemon cards. Each time you win, you receive more cards as a prize, thus allowing you to further build and customize your decks. And I also loved the music. I can hear the dueling theme in my head right now as I'm typing this, even though it has been so long (which just goes to show how much I played this game back in the day).

There was a sequel to this game, Pokémon Card GB2: Here Comes Team GR! however unfortunately it was never released outside of Japan. There is a fan translation, if you are computer savvy enough to figure out how to get it to work. I plan on taking a crack at it as soon as I have some free time, as I would really love a chance to be able to play the sequel to one of my favorite games of all time.

Pokemon Trading Card Game will be available on the 3DS Virtual Console on November 13 for only $6 USD. Absolutely worth it if you ask me, I'll be getting it for sure.

Music Appreciation Post: Majora's Theme

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm still holding out for a Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask remake, similar to the fashion in which Nintendo remade Ocarina of Time for the 3DS (see The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D). I was thinking about this earlier when I got to thinking of how good the music is in Zelda games. Each and every one of them has some absolutely fantastic orchestral arrangements (thanks to composer Koji Kondo), which I find myself looking up on YouTube on a consistent basis. In order to highlight in particular Majora's Mask, and its rather dark and mysterious nature, I've linked above to Majora's Theme. This song does a great job of portraying the kind of vibe Majora's Mask gives off while you are playing through the story. If you've never had the pleasure of playing this game before, I highly recommend you give it a try as it is one of the greatest and most unique video games of all time. It is available for purchase through the Virtual Console if you own a Nintendo Wii or Wii U, is included on The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition (along with a myriad of other Zelda titles) for the Nintendo Gamecube, or if you happen to be a computer-savvy individual you can easily download and emulate it on your home computer for free (read: not advocating piracy here just listing the options).

Thanks for reading! Give this song a listen, and give this game a try, you won't regret it!!

SSB4 Character Analysis: Pac-man

Image from the Smash Wiki

For my next Smash Bros. character analysis, I've chosen to highlight one of my favorite newcomers, Pac-Man. I'll admit I was a bit surprised when I first learned of his appearance in the latest game, and at the time I was unimpressed. After playing the game though I've come to find that he is fact a lot of fun to play as, and he happens to be one of few characters I keep finding myself coming back to. Pac-Man has a lot of unique moves, but I feel he is easy to get a feel for and with just a short amount of practice you can be on your way to becoming a solid Pac-Man player.

A moves:

• Neutral A- Your basic jab-jab-kick combo. Nothing too crazy here, but has some decent range and can be good for just racking up damage.
• Running A- This move has Pac-Man transform into his "waka-waka" form (think of the old arcade game) and charge forward a short distance. Has multiple hits and is a solid approach as I've found the last hit will still sometimes catch opponents that are trying to roll-dodge away.
• Side Smash- Pac throws out a ghost in whichever direction (left/right) you are facing. Has great range and can kill at higher percents. Otherwise just good for some horizontal knockback. 
• Up Smash- Pac throws a ghost up above his head. The hitbox for this may seem kind of small, but it can guard against approaches directly overhead. If you use it close enough (literally touching) to the opponent while they are on the ground it will hit twice while knocking them up.
• Down Smash- Pac throws out ghosts on either side of him, covering both sides. This move has great range and is a great way to punish roll dodges or just general approaches from your opponent, especially if you are not sure which side of you they are gunning for.

B moves:

• Neutral B- This move has Pac-Man cycle throw various items that each have a slightly different effect when thrown. Great for playing mind-games with people, and also serves as a handy projectile. Note there is a short cool-down on this, so you can't just sit there and spam projectiles.
• Side B- This is probably one of the most versatile moves in the game. Pac-Man throws out a line of dots and will transform into his "waka-waka" form and rush after them. The line of dots can be altered or "aimed" by your control stick as he is throwing them out, so you can guide where you want this move to end up. Great for off-stage recovery, approaching the opponent, and is a solid killing move at higher percents.
• Up B- A solid recovery move. This move has Pac-Man spawn a trampoline beneath him that he can then bounce off of 3 times, each time having him go higher. It covers a surprising amount of distance, and combined with his side B Pac-Man has pretty solid recovery all around.
• Down B- In this move Pac-Man throws down a fire hydrant beneath him. The hydrant will then shoot out bursts of water on either side of it, which does no damage but will push back any players caught in its trajectory. Can be useful for edge-guarding and more mind-games with opponents, but really my favorite part about this move is throwing it down onto the opponent's head while in the air above them. It doesn't do a whole lot of damage but I just think it's hilarious because it always seems to catch people off-guard.

Image from the Smash Wiki

Thanks for reading! If you've got the game make sure to give Pac-Man a try. I was surprised at how much I ended up liking him.

Pokemon Gen 3 Remakes are coming!

For those of you that remember the original Ruby and Sapphire (dubbed generation 3 in fan-language, as they were the third set of Pokemon games after Red/Blue and Gold/Silver), there are official 3DS remakes of both versions coming to North America on November 21st, 2014. It's hard to believe that it has been over 10 years since the originals came out for the GameBoy Advance, but apparently it has as they came out way back in 2003. I don't remember much from that time but what I do remember is my eyes and hands being firmly glued to a copy of Sapphire for a long time, as I tend to replay Pokemon games ad infinitum. While this is still about a month away, a lot of information about these games has been leaking online in the past several weeks, which has been making me crazy as more and more things (like new mega-evolutions) get revealed. 

The original Ruby and Sapphire were a big change for the Pokemon universe, as they took they game series in a further, deeper, more intricate direction than before (which can be mostly attributed to hardware limitations, not a fault of the developers, as the Gens 1&2 were on the older GameBoy/GameBoy Color). Two of the biggest new features these games brought were the introduction of abilities and natures for Pokemon, which added a whole new layer of complex gameplay to the video games. Some other fun new features introduced in the games were secret bases, double battles, and Pokemon contests.

I'm a big sucker for remakes of my favorite games, and because the remakes of Gen 2 for the DS were thoroughly satisfying (Heart Gold/Soul Silver) I've decided I'm going to give these a chance as well. I plan on pre-ordering Alpha Sapphire here soon, as Sapphire was the version that I originally had for the GBA. If you want to learn more about Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire before they are released, I would suggest checking out this page.

SSB4 Character Analysis: Yoshi

Image from the Smash Wiki

Yoshi is back in SSB4 and he is better than ever! This adorable green dinosaur has always been one of my favorites, and while he may have been a bit under-powered in Brawl (or maybe just under-appreciated) this time around he is definitely a force to be reckoned with. He has received some substantial buffs to many of his moves, which I am going to give a quick run-down of below:

A moves:

• Neutral A: Two hits. Not that great on its own but good for leading into another attack or just generally racking up damage.
• Dash attack: Probably my most favorite of all the improvements Yoshi has received in this game. This move has Yoshi rush forward with his foot extended for a lunging kick. It has a deceptively long hitbox, which is great because I've found it consistently catches people off-guard. It can also easily be chained into other moves, and even into itself.
• Up smash: One of his stronger smashes, Yoshi charges and performs a sweeping kick in an arc above his head. A good finishing move, or just hard-hitting move in general.
• Side smash: Yoshi charges and releases a powerful headbutt to his side. About equal with the Up smash in terms of damage dealt, and is also a good finishing move. This move can be good for getting an opponent off the edge, as it sends them flying to the side.
• Down smash: Yoshi charges and then sweeps his tail along the ground on both sides, always starting with the left. This move does not have as much knockback and is generally just not as good as his other two smashes, but I have found it to be useful still because no one is ever expecting it. Good for catching people off guard at times, although not the best as its hitbox is low to the ground and it has a longer animation that leaves you vulnerable if you miss.

• Neutral A (Aerial): A non-directional A in the air has Yoshi extend his foot a very short distance for a single kick. This move has a very small hitbox so it can hard to land, although it does stay active for a little longer than most moves so it can still hit if you use it a little too early, as it may still be active as you keep moving.
• Up A (Aerial): One of Yoshi's best aerial attacks, he flips around and spikes his tail upwards. It has a fast animation and can be chained easily into itself and other moves, and can also be a reliable killing move.
• Side A (Aerial): This move has Yoshi briefly wind up for an aerial headbutt. If you manage to land this while your opponent is off-stage, it will be one of the most satisfying kills you can get with Yoshi, as it will meteor-smash the opponent downwards to his death with no chance of recovery. Very solid move, can be tricky to master the timing though.
• Side Back A (Aerial): This is the backwards facing aerial variation from the regular Side A. This is a multi-hit move that is one of Yoshi's strongest, and the last hit has a sweet-spot so if you manage to connect it at a higher percent it can be a potential killing move. Very solid and a staple of Yoshi's air game along with the Up A (Aerial).
• Down A (Aerial): Yoshi's signature flutter-kick, this multi-hit move is for the master of the short-hop, although it can still be used otherwise. It is somewhat difficult to maintain as while Yoshi is performing the attack he will drift to the side and off of the opponent, which can cause some of the remaining hits to miss. This move can be difficult to execute and control, but is a good move once mastered.

B moves:

• Neutral Special: Yoshi captures the player with his tongue and pops them back out encapsulated in an egg. A classic move, although it is easily broken out of. It can be a potential set up for a smash attack or some edge-guarding antics. Any player worth his salt however knows to avoid a Yoshi sitting on the edge of the stage, as it is quite obviously a trap to encapsulate them in an egg and have them fall to their death. Hilarious if you can pull it off, though otherwise unreliable.
• Up Special: If any of you have played Yoshi in a Smash game before, you know that he does not get a traditional recovery move relegated to his Up B like most of the other characters. Using this move does provide a very short vertical hop when used in the air, but for the most part recovery with Yoshi is mostly reliant on his double flutter-jump. His Up B has him hurl eggs outwards towards the opponent, the trajectory of which can be altered with the control stick. This move is great for racking up damage, and is just an all around great projectile move if you can learn to master the control stick micro-management that comes with the skillful usage of this move. A good Yoshi player will be able to consistently troll you with eggs from a safe distance.
• Side Special: This move has Yoshi encase himself in a large egg and plow back and forth across the ground for a short time. A great move for approaching opponents who are farther away or pressuring campy projectile type players. Beware though because Yoshi is not completely safe in this state, he can be countered/interrupted by many other character's moves so this is not always the best approach, but it can be very useful still.
• Down Special: A ground-pound style smash towards the ground. This move is a great punisher for opponents who try to come at you from below in the air or who are charging up a smash on the ground but have whiffed the timing. Can be a solid killing move, and even if you miss there are two stars that burst out of the ground on either side of Yoshi when he hits the ground, so it will not be a total loss.

Smash 4 Hype

For those of you who haven't been paying attention, Super Smash Bros. for the 3DS was released yesterday. 

Some initial thoughts:

Many new additions to the character roster which is always great to see. Also many of the older characters who felt weaker in the previous Smash (Brawl) have been given some updates and seem to be performing better than before. It's still too early really to say which characters are the best but there are definitely some who feel stronger than others (read: Bowser). I've been having a lot of fun with Ness (my old standby), Greninja, and surprisingly Pac-man.

The online mode is great, although a bit laggy at times which can ruin it. Either way it is still fun to be able to challenge others over the Internet. Custom moves are a new addition that seem to have some potential although I haven't looked into those too much as of yet. The most exciting thing in my opinion is the portability of this game. Being able to take your DS anywhere and play Smash is going to be awesome for sure. Overall I'd say 10/10 would play again.

I'm going to be doing some more in-depth game/character analyses in the upcoming week, but for now this is a general "OMG IT'S HERE! IT'S FINALLY HERE!" post.