Return of the SNES - March 4th, 2000 - Drew Cosner
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this column are those of the participants and the moderator, and do not neccessarily reflect those of the GIA. There is coarse language and potentially offensive material afoot. I'm not on a mission from God, but it's fun to think I am. Don't say we didn't warn you.
So it's time to think of something to talk about again, huh? Well, I just finished watching the Lone Gunmen. It was pretty good. It was also the first time I've watched anything on TV for more than 15 minutes in the past 6 months.
And I'm not saying that to show how I'm one of those cool ultra-intellects who realizes what rubbish TV is; if I had my way, all I'd do is watch TV and play videogames and gorgeous women would find me irresistably attractive for it. It's just that I always have some damned project I really ought to be doing rather than watching shows.
Spring break is going to feel well-deserved.
| That's what friends are for |
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Cosner,
I don't want you to enter the Konami Contest because I want to kill you,
Drew. I want you to enter so I can pretend you're my special friend who
I can rough-house with, shooting the gun from your hands and planting a
few 'love taps' on that adorable noggin of yours. You know, choking you
and hiding you in closets, just like with my other special friends.
I swear that agreement said 'You agree to be Konami's bitch' in it
somewhere.
~Ian P.
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I have a real problem with close spaces, actually. Couldn't you just stick a couple of lit lady-fingers down my throat and watch me burst into a smattering of green chunks instead?
| The future of web columns, PERIOD. 'NUFF SAID. |
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Yo Drew,
I have to say, this topic stirred up some anger within me. The GBA
looks to be some rehashes of SNES games, which is all well and good with me.
In fact, the media, such as EGM, will praise the system for it. However,
when the PS2 launched and all we got were updates of 32-bit games (Madden,
Tekken, etc.), they were completely pissed off and made it a point to tell us
on just about every page. Apparently their self-generated hype didn't
deliver, so they had to blame it on something. Yet with the GBA, expect
them, and the rest of the media, to absolutely gush over it.
On another less angered note, the GIA has a news story about the FFX
theme song "Suteki da ne". I went to Napster and found that song by someone
named Kiroro. So is Uematsu using an already composed song, is this just a
common name, or did people mislabel their music files? As a side note, the
song is pretty poor.
--The Steve, planning to get a GBA just because they're so damn cheap anyway
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I think the big difference here is that the PS2 is and was being touted as a truly "next-generation" device. By word of Sony, the PS2 is not just the future of videogames but the future of entertainment, period. This little bundle of microchips and other electronic doohickeys is supposed to usher in a whole new era of gaming, bear our children, wash our cars, and connect gamers to one another on a SUPER information super highway. Pretty big claims to make, sure, but Sony's not one to be humble.
Conversely, with the GBA, Nintendo makes none of these pretentions. The GBA is just supposed to be a colorful, energy-efficient, hand-held SNES, more or less. So blame it on Sony's own bombast or gamers being anxious for the next big thing, but expectations were much higher for the PS2.
And just so answer your question, I'm sure it's another song. The name "Suteki da ne" is ridiculously generic, making it the object of the staff's usual offhand remarks and sarcasm that you love and/or hate us for. It's basically like naming a song "Awesome" in English. Or, to drive the point home a tad better, it's like naming a rock song "Creep."
| Possibly the most pointless letter I've ever posted |
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Oh there is plenty more to do with 2D. I just imagine that the developers
who are going to show it are waiting until the right time (E3, maybe?)
As for myself, I'd like to stand on that idealogical pedestal and wait for
something dramatically new, but Nintendo had to go and ruin it by announcing
the two Zelda titles for release the day before E3.
-KZ
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Okay, well, you didn't really cite any actual examples, but I'll post this letter anyway. Today's been a little slow. Next weekend you people are so getting a really angering topic.
| Going platinum |
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Hey Drew,
Congrats on your Platinum award. Do you know the individual judges' scores yet? I trust Famitsu's judgement; I'll have to be sure to get a copy of you when you come out in the States. Or are you such a niche title that your publishers don't want to take the risk of sending you across the Pacific?
Anyway, I personally see no reason why there should be nothing original left to do with 2D. Sure, it's been around for aeons, as you say--but what is there about polygons and rotatable cameras that's so inherently different? I'm fairly confident that an original gameplay concept could be just as easily thought up for a 2D game as for 3D. Heck, a lot of 3D games are the same thing that you're "accusing" GBA games of--simple updates of old [2D] ideas. Admittedly, 2D versus 3D isn't *entirely* just a matter of different graphical styles--a third spacial dimension is nothing to shake a stick at (is that how the proverb goes? It sounds kind of weird.. I have a sinking feeling I got it all wrong)--but on the most basic level the two styles have enough in common that I see no reason why only one should be capable of further evolution.
With love,
-SR
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Actually, I'm full of jokes and innuendoes that are heavily steeped in Japanese culture and fly over the heads of the average Westerner, stripping the game of the bulk of its quirky charm. For that reason, a North American release looks unlikely. That and the gameplay centers around shooting women on the toilet.
Anyway, I agree that adding an entire extra dimension really opens up a huge number of doors that were previously closed tight. Right now, a good number of games don't do much to take the fullest advantage of the third dimension, most probably because of current system limitations. You know, things like 3D characters on prerendered backgrounds and whatnot.
Even so, we've seen a lot of games that couldn't have been done up until now, and I suspect we'll only see more of this thanks to the graphical power of the PS2, GameCube, and X Box. A few years ago games like Zelda: OoT and Silent Hill would have been an impossibility; sure, the overall design could've been made into a 2D title, but it certainly wouldn't have been the same.
In fact, had Konami, say, made Silent Hill a 2D game, what's to say it wouldn't have ended up as another Prince of Persia-type deal? Just because the design is new doesn't mean the gameplay mechanics would be. Don't get me wrong; if someone was willing to put their minds to it, they could probably come up with a wholly original 2D concept. (Witness Vib Ribbon and Parappa.) I was just curious to see what kind of ideas you readers may have been able to come up with.
| Stop blaming Nintendo for Superman 64, dammit |
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What I meant was is that with Metroid, maybe turning it into just another FPS
is a mistake?? (I know it''s actually a 'first person adventure,' but...) The
main problem is that it'd lose some of the qualities that differentiated the
Metroid games from yet another Gex or Bubsy platform title. (the vertical
passageways, the emphasis on exploration vs. blasting aliens into little
giblets, for example)
As for the 'rip-off' aspect, well if Retro Studios can do something
different with the GC Metroid game and incorporate the maze elements of the
series, and have the end result (or the at least semifinished/first-glimpse
preview alpha) look and play more like Metroid and less like Quake/PD/GE to
please the fans (and not seem so much like a Quake total conversion) then
perhaps Metroid GC won't be so bad after all.
-JR
PS. as for Nintendo's "Quality Control" I have two words for you: Superman
64, but, it's still early to make final judgments...
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Again, I think there's plenty of room for Retro to make the game drip of the Metroid feel. I believe Chris put it best when he said something along the lines of "I've always wondered what it would be like to look from within Samus' helmet, seeing all of the HUDS and readouts." That's paraphrasing because I'm too lazy to dig up the actual comment, but I think the point is made.
Naturally, all of that will be seen at E3, but considering how important Nintendo realizes their launc line-up is going to be to the success of the GC, I'm pretty sure they'll watch the title closely
Which brings me to your PS. Comparing Superman 64 to a second-party title is pretty unfair; Superman was developed by a third party who paid for the license and the carts, thus giving them freedom to create the game as they saw fit. It sucked hardcore, but that was their perogative. Nintendo will certainly watch the titles of its second-parties like a hawk.
| Picking up where they left off |
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G'day Cosner,
When it comes to the return of 16-bit style games on the AGB (I call it by the dev name; force of habit), I think the initial hooplah is coming from everyone realizing that the "Golden Age" is getting a second coming. All of these truly fabulous games that so many of us have great memories of are getting the chance to pick up where they left off, and it will be a while before the masses grow tired of such. Beyond that, the SNES ended on some pretty impressive notes that most of us American gamers never got the chance to experience. Seiken Densetsu 3 is, in my opinion, one of the greatest RPGs produced on the system, and now it's getting the soul-sequel it deserves from Brownie Brown. From what I've heard, we'll also be getting a sequel to the most technically advanced SNES game to never reach our shores, Star Ocean. Plus there's a very good chance we'll see a 4 player dogfighting masterpiece with the Starfox logo emblazoned upon it (anyone remember the first prototype shots of the SNES Starfox 2 from Nintendo Power so many years ago?).
Having tooled around in the graphics editor, I can tell ya it's a very powerful and intuitive little gizmo. I'd wager that it's a dream come true for dev teams that "grew up" doing SNES dev, and it'll feel totally natural for them to pick up where they left off (quickly surpassing previous watermarks, even). For the good and the bad, we'll be seeing just that: picking up where they left off. I've no doubt that we'll see some creative and interesting projects (that may or may not break any new ground), because the ease of development will be mighty inviting to energetic amateur upstarts the world over; but I foresee a lot of crap games, too. Ya know how Yamauchi keeps blathering about the extreme difficulty and cost of development around the new consoles will put many lesser companies out of business? Odds are that those companies will try to stay afloat by working on less demanding platforms -- the AGB is a prime candidate.
Though I'm going to stray from topic, all of this brings up an interesting point... We're going to see a lot of games in the next generation. And I don't just mean, "games," I mean, "4 star or higher entertainment experiences engineered for replay value." Even the handheld AGB is going to have games that appeal to seasoned gamers, and that's not going to be the best system around. The PS2 already has some upcoming drool-worthy titles, GameCube is guaran-freakin-teed to be jam-packed with Rare and Miyamoto goodness, and xBox will begin cross-pollenating Console and Computer genres. The broader your tastes, the more lost you'll be.
On that happy point, I'll go away.-
-Jagger
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Okay, well, not much to say here. All of your thoughts resonate with my being, Jagger. XOXOXO.
| Drew the Grouch |
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Todays column was really grouchy. What's up?
-Big Guy
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Ah, my friend. You've obviously not read some of my older columns. I'm actually a much happier bloke these days. Compared to the stuff I used to write, yesterday's column was a McDonald's commercial about making you smile starring teddy bears made out of distilled love and nursery-rhymes.
Closing comments:
Okay, quick topic since you're obviously too stupid to think of something to mail Chris about on your own: what do you think of the idea of a StarFox RPG? Cool? Lame? how would you handle it if you had creative control.
Remember, I'm particularly trying to incite you guys to tell Chris your ideas for the game; that's far more interesting than "I think it will be gay!" Okay?
-Drew Cosner, professional scapegoat
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