This year’s list is ridiculously long.  I can’t even begin to tell you how much Nintendo has just blown my mind.  While looking into the games that I wanted to write about, I found more games that Nintendo has announced at E3.

Wii – Top 10 Games at E3 2010, in no particular order

Donkey Kong Country Returns – I’ve been hoping for this game and it was one of the many surprises of the show.  I’m excited to finally have a true sequel to the DKC Trilogy of games that I love so much.

Epic Mickey – I’m more excited about this game now knowing the premise of it.  It looks like a unique platform game that will capture imaginations.  You are Mickey Mouse and you carry a paint brush that allows you to control the environment.  Whatever your gaming style is, it has an effect on the outcome of the game and how characters within the game react to you as you go.

GoldenEye 007 – Wow.  A complete re-build of the classic N64 shooter that changed first-person shooter games forever.  It’s effects on the gaming industry are still felt and this game should recapture the feel of the original.

Kirby’s Epic Yarn – A truly unique take on the Kirby franchise.  Looks really fun and stylistic.  Everything seems to be made from yarn in this adventure, and it gives the game an original look that is unlike anything I have seen before.  Kirby still has his classic moves with some new ones.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword – This will be out sometime in 2011 now, as development is scheduled to continue through the end of the year.  It’s going to use Wii Motion Plus and it’s going to be another great Epic Zelda game!

Mario Sports Mix – Mario characters playing Volleyball, Basketball, Dodgeball and Hockey.  You can even collect items to use against each other, kind of like Mario Kart.  This is a very exciting sounding game, though Mario Hoops 3-on-3 for the DS was very difficult and frustrating.  I think having Mario Basketball on Wii will make a big difference.  I just hope the A.I. of your teammates is actually intelligent.

Metroid: Other M – This was announced at last year’s E3 show, and now it’s very close to release.  I’m looking forward to playing this one.  It’s going to be in the style of Super Metroid from the SNES with a dash of Metroid Prime from GameCube and Wii.

NBA Jam – I loved playing this on the Super NES back in the day, and now it’s back!  Boom-shaka-laka!

PokéPark Wii Pikachu’s Adventure – This one’s for Courtney.  Looks fun, though.  It’s an adventure set in a Pokemon Park that features attractions and Pokemon.  Pikachu was summoned by Mew to find missing Sky Prism Pieces to save the day.

Wii Party – Party games, horseback riding, etc.  All with your Mii.  This one features 13 different party game modes and over seventy different minigames.  It seems to have a variety of unique games that will make it fun to play with your friends.  Hopefully it becomes a staple of a game night for family and friends.

3DS – Top 10 Games at E3 2010, in no particular order

It’s 3D – without glasses – holy crap!

Animal Crossing
Batman
Kid Icarus: Uprising – I was hoping for this game to be announced last E3 and was surprised that it was announced this time around.  Looking forward to it!
Kingdom Hearts
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D – While I feel Twilight Princess is the best Zelda game ever, many feel Ocarina of Time is.  This will be huge.
Mario Kart – Awesome, this is going to be great fun to play in 3D!
Nintendogs 3D
Paper Mario
Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle (name not final) – I believe this is the 4th in the series of addictive puzzlers.
StarFox 64 3D

DS

Ōkamiden – The sequel to Okami for Wii, it looks interesting if not different.
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future – Likely the 3rd in the series of addictive puzzlers.

As you can see from the list above, Nintendo has really made quite an impression this year.  The length of the list of great properties that are coming out is enough to last me for years of gaming at the speed that I currently play video games, and this is if no sequel to Ghostbusters: The Video Game is announced.

Related Posts

• June 15, 2010 -- Donkey Kong Country Returns! Coming to Wii, a true sequel!
• June 5, 2009 -- E3 2009: Nintendo News – Zelda and Studio Ghibli (Part 3)
• February 24, 2010 -- Super Mario Galaxy 2 Release Date is May 23
• October 8, 2009 -- Oswald the Lucky Rabbit returns in Epic Mickey!
• June 2, 2009 -- E3 2009: Nintendo News (Part 1)

Not only that, but Studio Ghibli and Level 5 are working on an RPG for the DS called Ninokuni.  There’s no word on when or if it’ll come stateside, but it is beautiful.

[via Famitsu, Kotaku]

Related Posts

• June 16, 2010 -- E3 2010: Nintendo News
• February 24, 2010 -- Super Mario Galaxy 2 Release Date is May 23
• June 3, 2009 -- E3 2009: Nintendo News and a bit more (Part 2)
• June 2, 2009 -- E3 2009: Nintendo News (Part 1)
• May 6, 2009 -- Sony to release Ghostbusters: The Video Game Exclusively on Sony in Europe

I want to also mention a bit more about the press conferences from this week, as far as winners and losers.  Remember: I own a Wii and an Xbox 360, and do not own a PS3.  But I’m trying to be fair to all of them. This is a stream of consciousness that I’m only writing what comes naturally, so bear with me:

Presentation:

Winner: Microsoft

They presented a new game technology called Project Natal, that allows for many different things. Controller free gaming, object scanning, face and voice recognition, etc. But the lack of buttons makes this an impossible device to use on games that require, oh I don’t know…. a trigger?

They also announced more first person shooters than you can shake a stick at, including not just one, but TWO new Halo games.  Granted, we don’t know all that much about the differences in gameplay, but I can almost guarantee it’s much different than Nintendo announcing two new Mario games.

The biggest downside is that Microsoft spent a lot of time talking up games that are non-exclusives.  The Beatles: Rock Band, for example, will be available on all three consoles, as will the new Tony Hawk.  Thanks for padding your presentation with extras, Microsoft.

Runner Up: Nintendo

Seeing is believing with the games, and with a focus on first party, as well as third party exclusives, Nintendo showed only what they had to and nothing more.

Loser: Sony

“You’ve never played games like this before.” Yes we have, and yes we will. First on Nintendo Wii. Wii Motion Plus ring any bells?

Games I ACTUALLY want to play:

Winner: Nintendo

The Marios, Metroid, Wii Sports Resort. These are titles that interest me, and are the reasons why I keep my Wii locked and loaded. I guess I’m not a big fan of first person shooters. They kind of look… I don’t know… like they’re the same game after a while… with slightly different enemies and weapons but the same outcome.

Runner-Up: Sony

There’s a twist, as I own an Xbox 360 and NOT a PS3. I want to play The Last Guardian. But here’s another twist: I won’t be buying a PS3 just for one game. Period.

Loser: Microsoft

I guess I wouldn’t really call it a total loss. They did announce Halo: ODST and Halo: Reach. What they didn’t do is announce any killer apps for their motion capture control device. Nor did they announce any games that I would love to play.

Technology

Winner: Microsoft & Nintendo (Tie)

Microsoft has finally created something worth talking about in gaming, that is unique to the Xbox 360.  However, Nintendo has the most accurate control system coming out with Wii Motion Plus. Nintendo also has a greater installed user base and less of an upward climb to get their technology into homes.

Loser: Sony

So much for being first at anything, Sony has followed up their dreadful trend in copying what everyone else is doing by copying what everyone else is doing. Sony’s Motion Controller involves nothing new. Sure there’s a camera to track the location of the controller…. but why does it need that? I guess Nintendo holds the patent on Motion Controllers themselves, so to get around it, they had to use a camera to track it. This could also explain why Microsoft pulled their own motion controller last E3 and started working on the camera device for their system. Of course, that’s all theory on my part.

They also announced PSP Go for the same price as a Nintendo Wii.  Now, if you don’t want to have fun, you can have a portable device that you can take places and play games with the very few that have a PSP. Might as well just buy a DS Lite for over $100 less, or the DSi for about $80 less. Pick up some games for your shiny new DS while you’re at it. If you love RPGs, you’ll thank me later.

Overall

For this, I tallied up the score by giving two points to the winner, one point to the runner-up and zero to the loser in each category.

Winner: Nintendo (5 points)

Nintendo may not have won in presentation, but they’ve got it where it counts. Games and technology, giving them the best overall for this year’s E3.

Runner-Up: Microsoft (4 points)

Presentation was top notch, but game offerings are slim to none, though the technology is intriguing.

Loser: Sony (1 point)

One one category did they impress me: they had a game that I would like to play, and I don’t even know why. It might be the main character with the huge dragon thing for a companion that is intriguing to me, as a fan of such films as The Iron Giant and The NeverEnding Story.

Related Posts

• June 5, 2009 -- E3 2009: Nintendo News – Zelda and Studio Ghibli (Part 3)
• June 2, 2009 -- E3 2009: Nintendo News (Part 1)
• May 6, 2009 -- Sony to release Ghostbusters: The Video Game Exclusively on Sony in Europe
• June 16, 2010 -- E3 2010: Nintendo News
• February 24, 2010 -- Super Mario Galaxy 2 Release Date is May 23

Today was Nintendo’s Press Conference at E3. The announcements that were made were not at all bad, though presentation could have been better, the products speak for themselves. I’m just upset about the omission of three properties that I’d love to see make a comeback on Wii.

Nintendo Channel on Wii has also been updated to include trailers for the games they debuted at E3.

We’ll start with the surprises. All three are games that I now plan to get, and have added to my radar to acquire as soon as they are available.

Surprises that I now want to have:

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

I love the first New Super Mario Bros. on DS, and with that game being a top seller, expected to hear about New Super Mario Bros. 2 for DS at this year’s E3. What I did not expect was to see another entry in the series appear on the Wii. And it’s four players – SIMULTANEOUSLY! Not only that, but it is scheduled to come out by the end of this year, as they said Holiday 2009.

Seeing as the rumored new Mario game had just been announced, I didn’t see this announcement coming, and was slightly disappointed, even though I didn’t really expect it to be announced. And then it happened:

Super Mario Galaxy 2

You’ve got to be kidding me! This has me extremely excited. When I finished Super Mario Galaxy, I already wanted more adventure in the universe that Nintendo created with that game. Even with the pain and frustration that sometimes came with the challenges presented by the game, I wanted more. And more is exactly what we’re getting. This time, Yoshi is invited along on the adventure, as you can ride him around. It’s going to bring new gameplay elements into the fun adventure that I gave a 10 out of 10. I look forward to playing through the first adventure again, as well as the all new adventure, coming in 2010.

Metroid: Other M

I had heard rumor of the Metroid series returning to the style of play that it began with, with the first person perspective going away. This is that game. With Metroid Prime Trilogy being released later this year on Wii, you could say that is Retro Studios final Metroid game. What they’re working on now is a mystery at this point.

The trailer for Metroid: Other M starts out with the identity of the game being a mystery, until finally Zero Suit Samus appears and then puts on the suit. Not to mention the fact that she talks as well. This game looks incredible, and it, too, is due out in 2010.

Other games that they announced that I want

Wii Sports Resort

This looks better than when they first announced it. With a really wide variety of mini-games to play, including Table Tennis, a Swordplay game, Archery, More golf, Basketball, Water Skiing, Kayaking, Frisbee throwing, 3-point contests and more. I was very surprised by the number of different games available to play.

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

This is for the DS, and it’s the second game in the Professor Layton series. I’ve been having a great time playing the first game in the series, and look forward to this one as well. It’s utterly addictive and fun. This wasn’t announced during the press conference, but looks great.

I hear this game comes out as soon as August of this year.

Properties that are mysteriously missing

Donkey Kong – As I’ve written about, I want a true Donkey Kong Country 4. They can call it New Donkey Kong Country for all I care. I want it.

Kid Icarus – Pit appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and is a terrific character. Let’s see him return in a new franchise that becomes classic!

Zelda – Twilight Princess doesn’t really count, Nintendo. Let’s see a new Zelda made for the Wii from the start! And let’s see it come out on the Wii and not Wii 2.

All in all, though, a great E3 for Nintendo. Microsoft has enthralled the world with it’s controller free motion device, but to play a game like Super Mario Galaxy, no amount of hands free control will give you the added benefit of having a control stick and some buttons. People like to have tactile feedback.

As for Sony, the one game that they have a trailer for that I wouldn’t mind playing is one that is exclusive to the PS3. Sad. It’s called The Last Guardian.

But then Sony, again, tries to claim to be the first with technology that Nintendo invented. Really, Sony? Motion controller? In 2010?  With 1 to 1 controls? Sounds a lot like you’ve been in a cave somewhere, while Nintendo announced Wii Motion Plus. Seriously. Get with the program.

There was one other Nintendo announcement that I just wanted to comment on: Wii Vitality Sensor.

The Wii Vitality Sensor could add more depth to games like Resident Evil and Call of Duty. Imagine a game where you do a whole bunch of stuff, and then you get caught and have to use it when doing a lie detector test. There are many many possibilities for this that people aren’t really thinking about. Thinking outside of the box with this device is very important.

Related Posts

• June 16, 2010 -- E3 2010: Nintendo News
• February 24, 2010 -- Super Mario Galaxy 2 Release Date is May 23
• June 5, 2009 -- E3 2009: Nintendo News – Zelda and Studio Ghibli (Part 3)
• June 3, 2009 -- E3 2009: Nintendo News and a bit more (Part 2)
• May 6, 2009 -- Sony to release Ghostbusters: The Video Game Exclusively on Sony in Europe

In NTSC regions such as the United States, Atari is handling distribution of the game, and it WILL be released on time on ALL consoles on June 16th.

In PAL regions such as the United Kingdom, Sony is handling distribution of the game and ONLY releasing it on PS3, PS2 and PSP on June 19th, and Wii, DS and 360 in Fall 2009.

Sony has a history of bad moves like this.After they announced the Extremely high price models of the PS3 of $500 and $600, their head Ken Kutaragi had this to say:

“This is the PS3 price. Expensive, cheap — we don’t want you to think of it in terms of game machines. Because the PS3 is like nothing else.

For instance, is it not nonsense to compare the charge for dinner at the company cafeteria with dinner at a fine restaurant? It’s a question of what you can do with that game machine. If you can have an amazing experience, we believe price is not a problem.

When we announced the PlayStation price, it was said to be expensive… same for the PlayStation 2. However, when released, both had sales that were unthinkable for previous game machines. This is because both offered experiences that could not be had on previous game machines.

With the PS3, you can have next generation game experiences that could previously not be experienced — things like next generation graphics and various services via the network. And, as with the PS and PS2, we believe people who like games will, without question, purchase it.” (1)

Read between the lines, folks. What he is actually saying is this. “We want you to think of the PS3 how we want you to think about the PS3. Not as a game machine, but something more than that. And we offer experiences that can not be found on previous game machines. And we believe that our fans are idiots that are willing to pay whatever price we set for a gaming system.”

We aren’t stupid, Sony, and no system of yours has ever been groundbreaking, period. Every big groundbreaking event in gaming in the last thirty years can be traced to one company alone: Nintendo. I defy anyone to prove me wrong.

Ghostbusters Delay

Sony is up to their usual tricks again, however, only in Europe. Thankfully only in Europe. Here’s the quote from the horse’s mouth:

‘With our colleagues at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe publishing Ghostbusters: The Video Game, we are thrilled by the dynamic new Ghostbusters game. We think it will have tremendous appeal to gamers and we can’t think of a better way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of this beloved franchise.’ said Mark Caplan, Vice President of Licensing-Interactive for Sony Pictures Consumer Products. ‘With this superb game launching alongside the Blu-ray release, we will reach existing fans and the next generation, bringing them all into the irresistible Ghostbusters universe.’ (2)

Now, let’s look at that quote again with what he is really saying.

‘…We think it will have tremendous appeal to [Sony] gamers and we can’t think of a better way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of this beloved franchise [than to release the game only to fans that have one of our consoles].’ said Mark Caplan, Vice President of Licensing-Interactive for Sony Pictures Consumer Products. ‘With this superb game launching [on PS2, PS3 and PSP] alongside the Blu-ray release, we will reach existing fans [that are among the 10 million (3) fans that purchased a PlayStation 3 in PAL regions] and the next generation, bringing them all [to stores to buy our overpriced hardware] into the irresistible [heh! see what I did there?] Ghostbusters universe.’

It’s a dang good thing that Atari has the distribution license here in the United States. Sony, I love that your Motion Pictures division is creating Ghostbusters 3, but why have you not even listened to the life-blood of the series: Dan Aykroyd? He prefers the Wii version of the game, as he told Newsweek:

Honestly, I love the way we look in the Wii platform, because it resembles the animation that was done in “The Incredibles.” Anybody who looks like an Incredible is automatically a superhero. And I was so pleased that they shaved off at least 60 pounds from my current bulk. The boys look good. We resemble the actors who were in the first movie. You wouldn’t want us out there looking as we do today. But in the third movie we will! There, we’ll have the benefit of passing the torch to a new generation. Much prettier and much better looking, like Alyssa Milano. (4)

Why are you ignoring the fact that you have lost this generation of gamers? Why are you being ignorant of your legion of fans that doesn’t have a Sony console, or even want one. I think that while it’s being looked at as great marketing for Sony’s consoles, it’s really not being fair to the Ghostbusters franchise, as it is limiting the reach that the game will have for a while, and the franchise is still unproven as far as making a come back. It’s a good thing it’s releasing on Wii, 360 and DS over here at the same time as the Sony versions of the game. It’s Sony’s choices like this that remind me why I don’t purchase their consoles.

Photo Credit: Woot.com

Sources
1. IGN: Ken Kutagari
2. CinemaBlend: Sony makes GB exclusive in Europe
3. VGChartz
4. Newsweek: Dan Aykroyd loves Wii version

Related Posts

• April 24, 2009 -- Ghostbusters: The Video Game Opening Cinematic
• February 16, 2009 -- Ghostbusters: The Video Game Behind the Scenes Details
• May 26, 2009 -- Aykroyd talks more Ghostbusters 3, Video Game
• September 23, 2008 -- Great Wii Games
• June 16, 2010 -- E3 2010: Nintendo News

In my head I imagined a game where you would take on a single ghost at a time, like when the busters go after Slimer in the first film. Or maybe two, like in Ghostbusters II. But every video game had multiples of ghosts attacking from all sides. Not only that, but the ghosts could do a lot of damage to you. Unlike in the Ghostbusters films and The Real Ghostbusters cartoon, where the most damage was really done using objects like trash cans. And the occasional slime of course! (He slimed me!)

Here, we have the opening cinematic of the video game, which I am purchasing for both Wii and Xbox 360, and perhaps the DS so I have it on the go as well. We’ll see. Can you tell that I’m psyched to play this game?

Right about now, you’re probably wondering why I would get both the Wii version and the Xbox 360 version. Well, there are a number of reasons.

On the Xbox 360, you play as the original Ghostbusters (important), and you have the realistic looking graphics (not that important). You also have the incredible looking cinematics, like the one above.

On the Wii, you play as a new recruit, either a guy or a girl (your choice), and you have stylistic looking graphics (pretty cool). You also have the ability to use your Wii remote as the neutrona blaster, and to throw the trap with the nunchuck. On top of that, there is co-operative game play.

Check out the Ghostbusters: The Video Game Wii trailer below:

Related Posts

• May 6, 2009 -- Sony to release Ghostbusters: The Video Game Exclusively on Sony in Europe
• February 16, 2009 -- Ghostbusters: The Video Game Behind the Scenes Details
• February 24, 2010 -- Super Mario Galaxy 2 Release Date is May 23
• June 16, 2010 -- E3 2010: Nintendo News
• June 5, 2009 -- E3 2009: Nintendo News – Zelda and Studio Ghibli (Part 3)

Related Posts

• April 24, 2009 -- Ghostbusters: The Video Game Opening Cinematic
• May 6, 2009 -- Sony to release Ghostbusters: The Video Game Exclusively on Sony in Europe
• June 16, 2010 -- E3 2010: Nintendo News
• February 24, 2010 -- Super Mario Galaxy 2 Release Date is May 23
• June 5, 2009 -- E3 2009: Nintendo News – Zelda and Studio Ghibli (Part 3)

Four-player Bubble Bobble action. It’s going to contain the 100 old stages from the original NES Bubble Bobble (now available on the Wii Virtual Console), though the graphics have been enhanced. In addition, there will be 100 new stages. That’s 200 total stages, with harder versions of all of them, which I find to be incredibly frightening, as the game seemed almost sadistic at times.

Bubble Bobble Wii will be available for 800 Wii Points ($8)

Two packs of 50 stages will also be released at 200 Wii Points ($2) a each, available as Downloadable Content sold separately.

With four player action, Bub and Bob will be joined by newcomers Bib and Bab. There’s no word on the storyline at this point (the original being a very weak story as it is just in place to reward players for completing the game properly).

In the original, if I remember correctly, the two dinosaurs, Bub and Bob were actually humans that were turned into the dinosaurs, and their goal was to defeat the final boss to free their girlfriends and become human again.

This then leads into the sequel, called Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2. This confused me greatly when I was younger, as the game play mechanics were pretty different. Instead of clearing all the enemies in the limited time you are given, you had to get to end of the stage, by building paths by creating rainbows that you could walk on, and working your way up through the stage to the top before the time was up.

Adding to that confusion was the later release of Bubble Bobble Part 2. I never played it though, as the artwork on the box somehow made the game seem too different to me. It was also strange that they’d release a game that was essentially the sequel, and another later another game with the same number. Which one is it, though? According to Wikipedia, Bubble Bobble Part 2 was referred to by the end of Rainbow Islands as “The Story of Bubble Bobble 3.”

Anyway, I am pretty excited about the new game, though it’ll be out in Japan at some point this year, and no release date has been announced.

Related Posts

• January 26, 2009 -- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles announced for Wii
• February 16, 2009 -- Ghostbusters: The Video Game Behind the Scenes Details
• February 5, 2009 -- TMNT: Smash Up Trailer and Screenshots
• January 13, 2009 -- Klonoa Remake coming to Wii this year
• January 9, 2009 -- Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Blu-ray: June 16, 2009

Originally submitted at Toys R Us

The critically-acclaimed franchise that gave gamers the freedom to fly in a world of dreams is coming to the Wii this Holiday! As a fantasy jester called NiGHTS, players will experience a heightened sense of gliding, spiraling, looping, and much more thanks to the innovative Wii Remote.

Nights: Journey of Dreams for Nintendo Wii

Nights is a Journey of Dreams

Pros: Easy to learn, Gameplay, Great Sound, Beautiful Music, Engaging Story Line, Challenging, Multiplayer, Graphics

Cons: Learning takes some time

Best Uses: Adults, Teenagers

Describe Yourself: Casual Gamer

I was skeptical of this game at first, but had heard all of the acclaim around the original game that was released for Sega Saturn many years ago. I wanted to be convinced, though, and after reading about the game in Nintendo Power magazine, I was intrigued.

I bought the game, and the first thing I noticed when starting the game was the great graphics and the music that belongs on a soundtrack album.

Then I started to run around the games’ gateway of dreams, getting a handle on the controls, which were incredibly simple to master. I then took to the skies for flight training. They give you the option of either leading with the Wii Remote, by pointing at the screen, or using the Nunchuck’s control stick. The control stick is the only way to fly.

Flight in this game is incredible and exhilirating. It’s not completely free, as the game lets you move on a 2D plane, kind of like being on tracks. That is a blessing, however, as going through the levels would be pretty difficult if you could go anywhere.

Getting better at flying takes time, so don’t get discouraged if you’re not that good at it when you first start playing. My first time through some levels, I was running into walls and things that I really shouldn’t have been. I kept going, though, and while I’m still not the best, I’ve been able to blast through some stages without much trouble at all.

Speaking of the levels, they are diverse and fun. Some, you are Nights, and you have different time limits and goals that must be accomplished, and others you are either the boy or the girl, who each have different missions to accomplish. (And finishing the game with both of them gives you a different ending.)

The end bosses are varied as well, with different techniques used to defeat each of them. The very first one I fought was kind of like a big pinball game, where the boss was the pinball and I was throwing him through it. That one was difficult to get used to, as the level switches from a vertical plane to a horizontal one, just for that.

While the game is a little short, that is sort of a blessing, as some of the levels are huge and would take a long time to learn. I constantly go back through old levels, though. I can always get better at the game, and it’s really fun to re-play.

Level design is truly inspired, as there are many various level types and game play styles.

It makes me wish they’d either create a sequel, or update the original Sega Saturn game for Wii.

(legalese)

Related Posts

• June 16, 2010 -- E3 2010: Nintendo News
• February 24, 2010 -- Super Mario Galaxy 2 Release Date is May 23
• June 5, 2009 -- E3 2009: Nintendo News – Zelda and Studio Ghibli (Part 3)
• May 6, 2009 -- Sony to release Ghostbusters: The Video Game Exclusively on Sony in Europe
• April 24, 2009 -- Ghostbusters: The Video Game Opening Cinematic

I would love it if they released an “All-stars” version of the game series, much like Super Mario All-Stars. I’d update the already superb graphics of the original games to be cleaner and more refined, and I would add full motion videos to tell the story that sets each game in motion, only allowing you to play each sequel as you complete the last.

I would then culminate the adventures with a brand new DKC4, in the style of the original trilogy of games.

When it comes to the music in the games, I really liked most of the music in the DKC series, enough to own the soundtracks to them. But when putting together an All-Stars game, I would re-produce the music to have a solid, epic soundtrack. I would take only the best music from all three games and leave out the rest, either re-scoring those tracks to fit in with the beautiful score that is left over, or simply replacing it with music from another game. Case in point: Lakeside Limbo, the first stage of the game.

I would actually love the best music to be fully orchestrated, with a choir to provide added flair.

Another thing that I would do with the games, as it would all be connected, is allow for you to go back through the original games and use any of the playable characters into each of the games. But only after completing the first three DKC games. This would open up a new timing system, as it could lend itself to more secret areas becoming accessible in different areas, with the use of different characters. However, this is something that I would only add, if the first time through the game was still the same, and your time for that game wasn’t effected. I would have any extra time spent, with new bonus levels, be added to a “global time” and not an “individual game time” to keep players happy.

One thing that the Game Boy Advanced versions of the games did was to add new items to collect, such as a camera, to put together photo albums. That was a neat addition, but it was a little bit shocking to see how much it would slow down your time toward the complete percentage when finishing the games. That, I would change into a secondary, over worldly thing, in order to preserve the original gameplay from the SNES editions.

Next, for Donkey Kong Country 4, I would design the game with the same flair as the first one, and elements of DKC2 and DKC3. It would be an epic game with fun, new level-types, as well as familiar level styles.

And that would only be the Donkey Kong Country All-Stars portion. I would also allow you to scroll on, past the first 4 games, into the next collection of updated games. Donkey Kong Land, completely re-done, in the Donkey Kong Country style, with the same beautiful graphics, music and tightened controls to match those of the DKC series. That first DKL was insanely difficult at times, and frustrating at other times, as the screen would blur and you’d lose track of your character. It made things difficult when you’d press a button expecting one thing, but your character wouldn’t respond as quickly, presumably because of the limitations of the Game Boy.

In this way, Donkey Kong Land would become a playable game, and would be a solid entry into the Donkey Kong Country pantheon of games.

I’ve wanted this in a game for over 10 years now, and I finally decided to write something about it.

Now, Nintendo is doing something interesting by re-releasing some of their GameCube titles on Wii with updated control schemes. They are calling it the “Play it on Wii” series. Among the titles getting upgrades are Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Pikmin 1 and 2, Chibi-Robo and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat.

Donkey Kong Jungle Beat has been updated, adding new levels, a better control mechanism than the kongas from Donkey Konga, and is now more platform based. Hopefully this makes it more like Donkey Kong Country than it originally was. I never got a chance to play it, but now I’m hoping that this version of it releases in North America, if it is anything like Donkey Kong Country.

Perhaps it could be the first step toward my dream of seeing a Donkey Kong Country Trilogy released some day.

Related Posts

• June 15, 2010 -- Donkey Kong Country Returns! Coming to Wii, a true sequel!
• June 16, 2010 -- E3 2010: Nintendo News
• February 24, 2010 -- Super Mario Galaxy 2 Release Date is May 23
• June 5, 2009 -- E3 2009: Nintendo News – Zelda and Studio Ghibli (Part 3)
• May 6, 2009 -- Sony to release Ghostbusters: The Video Game Exclusively on Sony in Europe