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| The Many Faces Of Nintendo | |
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| Topic Started: Sunday May 1 2005, 05:55 PM (97 Views) | |
| Severus Snape | Sunday May 1 2005, 05:55 PM Post #1 |
This Mod Has No Title
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The Many Faces of Nintendo Characters – The Good, the Bad, the Useless By - Boom Boom Out of all the current video game companies, Nintendo is the one that has the widest selection of characters. This writer is sure anyone can name at least ten Nintendo characters, but how many Sony or Microsoft characters can you name? Nintendo has many abstract characters, bizarre ones, and also has the most original ones. From people with mushrooms on their heads to strange creatures who look like some mutated trees. Every single series has its own selection of characters, both good and bad. What I’m presenting to you today is an outline of the many faces of Nintendo, the good, the bad and the useless. Mario Mania I’m sure everyone here has heard of the Mario brothers. Heck, they’re more recognizable than Mickey Mouse! Mario and Luigi have been with Nintendo since the beginning, well, at least since they started manufacturing video games. Ever since his humble beginnings in Donkey Kong, Mario has become an international celebrity. Mario has done it all; from saving princesses, driving go-carts, playing tennis and golf, to being a doctor, and even hosting parties. However, as of late, one has to admit, that Mario has become overused. Some even think he has become stale and should loose his place in the spotlight. Mario hasn’t changed much over the years, he’s still the same fat, mushroom-eating, Italian plumber he’s always been. Should Nintendo give him the boot? Probably not, since Nintendo will never let their flagship hero go, but I’ll leave that for you to decide. Donkey Kong's Destiny Another notable Nintendo icon is the always-loveable Donkey Kong. Like Mario, he too started his beginnings in the fated Donkey Kong arcade game. Since then, he has taken his own role in his own franchise. One could say, that he helped Nintendo “own” the arcade market. With his four arcade games, Donkey Kong, one, two, and three, and the seldom heard about Donkey Kong Math, fans have helped Donkey Kong expand into home consoles. Donkey Kong made an enemy in Mario at the start, but then found a new foe in King K Rool, who continues to steal his hoard of bananas, which DK treasures so dearly. Many have enjoyed the Donkey Kong Country series. Starting in 1994 with Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong enjoyed his legacy with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System until 1996. However, he was only a controllable character in the first one, as distant family members had to rescue him in the other two. Still, the series had a long lasting impact on the big ape. These also spoofed some other DK games such as Donkey Kong 64, Diddy Kong Racing, and the current Donkey Konga series. Nowadays, no one is really giving Donkey Kong much thought as of now, seeing how the Donkey Konga series has left many fans dispassionate. Cranky Capitalist Out of all of Nintendo’s characters, Wario is perhaps the most innovative ones, and one of the most hated. Many dismiss him to be nothing more than a fat Mario clone. If that’s true, then I ask why he managed to get his own series. Much like Donkey Kong, Wario started out as a villain to Mario. Wanting a castle of his own, Wario stole Mario’s. As one can suspect Mario got his back, sending Wario out on a quest to get his own castle. He eventually got one in Wario Land. In Wario Land 2, a gang of thieves, called the Black Sugar Pirates, stole Wario’s treasure and kicked him out of his own castle. Wario was also the “saviour” of sorts for the Virtual Boy. Wario’s game, aptly named Wario Land VB, and starred Wario, in a quest for treasure. Wario Land 3 involved Wario stuck in some strange land, trying to retrieve music boxes for the guardian of the land, who later betrayed Wario. Yet another quest for money was the basis for Wario Land 4 and Wario World. Outside of treasure hunting, Wario is seen playing sports such as golf, tennis, and go carting, participating in parties, and tormenting his brother, Waluigi. How is Wario innovative you ask? Well, it all comes down to this. Wario is a character most average Joes can relate to. Wouldn’t you want to go around driving cool cars, eating fatty foods, having lots of money, and one-upping your rivals? Or would you rather kill helpless turtles, eat mushrooms, and rescue some princess who gets captured every five minutes? Not only is Wario a character most people can relate to, his games also have innovative features that others do not. Of course, I’m speaking about Wario’s power-ups and transformations. Wario can literally transform into a vampire, snowman, a ball of yarn, a zombie, and a flaming ball of fire. Each transformation helps Wario to get to new areas which were previously unreachable. No other games have this feature, except the Banjo-Kazooie series, which could possibly be inspired by the Wario Land games. His power-ups also add some fun into his games. He can do new things as you progress through the game, such as lift enemies, swim, and jump higher. All in all, Wario is a great addition to the series, who is looked down upon, despite the fact he is one of the most ground-breaking video game characters ever created. Second Fiddle Siblings Now we start to move on to more unoriginal characters. Let’s start with Daisy. She seems like a clone of Peach, which in a way, she is. Then why isn’t Wario a clone of Mario? This is because Wario is innovative and Daisy has no personality whatsoever. She looks exactly like Peach, except in a yellow dress and with red hair. Her dreaded “Hi I’m Daisy” in Mario Kart: Double Dash left many gamers annoyed and wishing Nintendo would cancel Daisy. Waluigi is yet another clone and unimaginative character. Waluigi basically looks like someone put Wario and Luigi together in a paint program. All though, it has been said there’s a story behind his name. According to some “Wa” is a Japanese character meaning “bad.” Thus, Waluigi is a bad version of Luigi. Another looked down pair of siblings is the Baby Bros. They are Mario and Luigi as babies. How then, can they be in games such as Mario Kart: Double Dash? These two are yet another waste of polygons that do nothing but annoy gamers. Dino of Death Perhaps one of the biggest mistakes in Nintendo history is the creation of Yoshi. Yes, he was innovative in Super Mario World, but Yoshi’s Island destroyed this character and brought a lot of hurt on to Nintendo. Some regard Yoshi’s Island as the greatest Mario game ever, but some found it to be tedious, annoying, and kiddy. Don’t be thinking I hate this game because if it’s young-looking graphics. They gave Yoshi an annoying voice, a juvenile appeal, and a bad image to Nintendo. If you don’t think Yoshi’s Island is kiddy, just wait until you see Yoshi’s Story. This had also caused some casuals to leave Nintendo, and I know of some who left because of this. What I’m trying to say is that they should either improve Yoshi’s look and appeal, or just get rid of him completely. All in All As mentioned before, Nintendo clearly dominates in the character department of gaming. Yes, there are many other greats I didn’t point out such as Link, Kirby, and Bowser, but they’ll wait for another article. It all comes down to this. While Nintendo has many great characters that most people recognize, there are others who people even tend to shun, and others who waste programmers’ time. Should Nintendo start to contract new faces? Yes. Should they let go of some of the useless ones? Yes. Nintendo’s characters do make Nintendo what is today, and with some improvement, they will continue to bring joy to future generations. |
 He just kept talking in one long incredibly unbroken sentence moving from topic to topic so that no one had a chance to interrupt. It was really quite hypnotic. - Captain Picard | |
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| Squirrel | Sunday May 1 2005, 06:36 PM Post #2 |
Black and proud american!
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I couldn't agree more. Nintendo needs to make a new character for the older crowd....and it's gonna take more than Samus to do it. |
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Borders. Language. Culture. http://www.michaelsavage.com Squirrel, The orignation of innovation! | |
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| Blue Hedgehog | Monday May 2 2005, 09:31 PM Post #3 |
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Good writing and I totally agree. Nintendo really needs new characters, and like Squirrel said, ones to please the older crowd. |
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If it were up to me, all politicians would have to wear lie detectors while giving out campaign promises. All faiths have a Golden Rule, but why don't people of all faiths follow it? Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. I think you all know who said that... | |
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| Mallow | Wednesday May 11 2005, 10:22 PM Post #4 |
Full Metal Admin
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Pretty good article Boom Boom. I agree fully with the whole thing. |
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| biggeasy77 | Wednesday Dec 21 2005, 02:41 AM Post #5 |
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Unregistered
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i agree completely and this is your best article |
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| Severus Snape | Wednesday Dec 21 2005, 01:19 PM Post #6 |
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This Mod Has No Title
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But did you really read it? I seriously doubt that you can read these articles and respond to them in two minutes and please introduce yourself so we know who the hell you are. And in the future, please add more instead of "I agree." |
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He just kept talking in one long incredibly unbroken sentence moving from topic to topic so that no one had a chance to interrupt. It was really quite hypnotic. - Captain Picard | |
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3:26 PM Nov 24
