Month: May 2013

Pikmin

With Pikmin 3 coming up for Wii U this summer, I thought it would be a good time to go back and play some of the original Pikmin on Nintendo GameCube.

I started up a new game and I took control of Captain Olimar. After crash landing on a strange planet, he conveniently finds an “Onion” full of plant-like creatures named Pikmin that seemingly exist only to help him. By commanding these Pikmin and assigning them to various tasks, Olimar must recover the missing pieces of his spaceship within 30 days. Of course there are enemies to fight, abilities to learn, and puzzles to solve along the way.

Pikmin screenshot (original GameCube game)You start the game just with red Pikmin, but you’ll soon discover yellow and blue Pikmin as well. The red Pikmin are fireproof, which are particularly useful against fire-breathing enemies. The yellow Pikmin are lighter, which allows Olimar to throw them to higher locations that other Pikmin can’t reach. They can also use explosive rocks (bombs essentially) to break down particularly strong walls. The blue Pikmin have the ability to walk through water, which is extremely useful in some worlds.

Pikmin screenshot (original GameCube game)Even today, the game is just as fun and addictive as it was years ago. The pleasant surroundings and peaceful music make the world of Pikmin a good place to escape to. And it’s also amusing to see the little Pikmin all working together to carry a large enemy back to their ship. Here’s a gameplay video showing a few minutes of gameplay:

Kirby’s Adventure update

Even though I bought Kirby’s Adventure for the Wii U Virtual Console last month (when it was on sale for 30 cents), I have not been playing it much since my first Kirby’s Adventure blog entry. But I’ve decided to change that fact by playing it yesterday and today. I’ve gone through the second and third worlds (Ice Cream Island and Butter Building) and I’m now partially through the fourth world, Grape Garden.

Kirby's Adventure screenshotI’m enjoying the game more and more as I go. The controls are floaty when Kirby is flying, and it has a bit of a learning curve to figure out how to control Kirby accurately while in mid-air. Pressing B exhales his mouthful of air, so you have to get the timing just right when avoiding flying enemies or obstacles. Overall though, the game seems pretty easy so far. The lone exception up to this point would be the sun and moon bosses (Mr. Shine and Mr. Bright) at the end of the third world. They gave me some trouble for a while, although I eventually beat them. The ground isn’t safe because they may charge at you or throw a projectile. But the air isn’t safe either, because the one that’s “inactive” can still attack you in the air. Plus, they switch positions sometimes, so a lot of mid-air maneuvering is required.

Mr. Shine and Mr. Bright - Kirby's Adventure boss fight screenshotI’m also enjoying the variety of locales in the game, even within single levels. There may be a nice outdoor level, then a neon level, then a starry-night sky. Sure, there are some generic blocky-looking stages as well, but overall, the graphical variety keeps things feeling fresh. I also enjoy the many abilities Kirby can acquire. By inhaling and swallowing enemies, Kirby can use that enemy’s ability. That may give Kirby a sword, a parasol, a high jump, a projectile weapon, or even the ability to sleep! I’m not sure how useful the sleeping one is, though. My favorites so far are the ice weapon and the laser.

Kirby's Adventure screenshot - Wii U Virtual ConsoleI’ll be sure to post another update once I’m closer to the end of the game. Kirby’s Adventure is no longer 30 cents on the Wii U Virtual Console, but this month, they have Super Metroid (SNES) for 30 cents. I already own that one on SNES, but it is a great game if any of you want to give it a try. Definitely worth the 30 cents. That’s all for now; see you next time!

Zen Pinball 2 – Mars

This is essentially a follow-up to my first blog entry about Zen Pinball 2. I bought the Mars table tonight, for $2.99 plus tax. I’ve tried most of the tables in Zen Pinball 2, and Mars was my favorite. Not only is it fun to play, but it’s visually appealing and has some pretty good music too.

Zen Pinball 2 - Mars screenshot Wii UI played a few games of it tonight, and did okay, but not great. I probably need to look into the documentation to see if it says what targets do what (in terms of the missions), so I can adjust my strategy to fit the goals. Either that or just keep playing and learn as I go.

There did seem to be a problem listing the online rankings though. When I tried to view them, it just said “Please wait while connecting to the Ranking server” and never moved past that screen. I’ll have to assume there was a temporary problem with their server, because my connection was working fine; I was able to buy and download the table after all. I’ll try it again another day.

I’m also still playing Batman: Arkham City, though admittedly not as much since I got Animal Crossing: New Leaf. There are still so many things to collect in the game, it’s overwhelming. I’ve already decided that I’m not going for 100%, but I’m still far from done. I have beaten the Haley Quinn’s Revenge scenario (though I didn’t find all of her balloons), but I’m focusing on collecting Riddler trophies and destroying the security cameras in the main Batman mode for now. My overall percentage is currently at 60%.

batman60pct