Skyward Sword Launches in America

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for the Nintendo Wii launches, and once again it's time for gamers to journey around what is hopefully a much-expanded Hyrule. Many gamers have been waiting years for this game. It might be the last great game to come out for the Wii. It might be the last great Zelda game ever created. Then again, it might just be more of the same. I want a game that captures the adventure, challenge, and sense of exploration in Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda, and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link--not a formula-grown fetch quest.

I assumed stores were packed and/or already sold out. Still, I hate ordering things online this close to Thanksgiving and Christmas, and hopefully I'll be able to grab a copy after I finish this post!

I won't be reviewing Skyward Sword for some time. I'm just not going to hammer out a generic review; I'll get to it when I have the time. Also, I'm not going to be reading any online reviews or looking at many screenshots.

The art style has been part of the online controversy, but last I heard most gamers seemed okay with the Ocarina-inspired artwork. Personally I like the darker side of Zelda (Twilight Princess and Zelda II) but I'm willing to be open minded.

Has anyone purchased the game? I'd be interesting in any first impressions readers have of it. My only expectation is that it has some new stuff. I really feel like the Zelda series as a whole has stagnated, but I haven't lost hope entirely.

Interview with Yuji Naka: the creator of Sonic the Hedgehog

I found this interview with Yuji Naka in Sega Visions Issue 9. Sonic 2 hadn't come out yet, and this guy was at the height of his powers.

VG Music: Gradius Gaiden Stage 1

This song is an awesome technorock track that uses laser-synth sounds to mimic the icy nature of Stage 1 in Gradius Gaiden.

Gradius Gaiden was only imported to America on the PSP Gradius Collection. I recommend downloading the pSX v1.12 (or higher) emulator and the .bin and .cue files for rom. It's well worth the hassle to emulate this one.

Gradius NES Box Art

The Gradius box art is pretty sick, no doubt it helped to push a few carts back in the day. I like reading the backs of NES boxes; they really hype the game up.

Also, the art for Gradius II on the Famicom isn't bad either. Same as the arcade title screen.

Dragon Warrior Strategy Guide Nintendo Power Scans

Here's a great way to start the weekend: Dragon Warrior Strategy Guide scans. In addition to another issue of Nintendo Power with Dragon Warrior, the game was covered in-depth in Issue 7.

I'll always remember getting my copy for free in the mail because of my subscription to Nintendo Power. I spent months playing the game before I finally beat it. I would spend hours looking at the maps, charts, monster stats, etc. I even calculated how many battles I would need to buy the Silver Shield, get to level 30, and other good stuff. Dragon Warrior was one of the first really fleshed out adventures, and the main overworld theme will always be stuck in my head.

These scans have nice hints, tips, & some amazing art! This is what made Nintendo Power such a force to be reckoned with.

Dragon Warrior is epic, what more can I say that the scans don't? Twenty years ago you'd be watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and playing Dragon Warrior right now.

Pixel Art: 8-Bit Super Meat Boy

Watch out for buzz-saws and vaporware. Too bad Super Meat Boy never made it to the Wii. At least you can download an old version for the PC for free, or get it on steam.

Averaging Gradius

After beating Gradius yesterday I found this cool project called "Averaging Gradius" over at TheNewGamer.com.

Basically he superimposed 15 players plus himself playing the first level of Gradius and color coded the entire thing. It reminds me of Quantum Mario, and other videos.

You can read "Averaging Gradius," his blog post about the process of making the video.

Or you can watch the video below!