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Gaming Archaeology: R.O.B.

Phil Bond — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:24:41 +0000

Powet Presents a repost of one of our most popular videos… A tribute to R.O.B. on the NES. Since his inclusion in Super Smash Bros Brawl, a lot of people have been looking for more information.

He’s become an increasingly popular cameo in first-party Nintendo games, but what the Hell is R.O.B.? How does it work? Have you ever played Gyromite without cheating?

Original Post from June 29, 2006: Gaming Archaeology: R.O.B.

Brand-New Totaka’s Song Discovery!

Phil Bond — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 13:00:21 +0000

Submitted by Powet reader Nathanael Wade, we have some blurry video from an Animal Crossing E-Reader card. I’ll take some legible video once I track the card down for myself, but for now: here’s some of what you get when you scan Animal Crossing card #P15…

Other updates for Totaka fans:

I’m creating a “Totaka” tag here at Powet, so you can see all the major and minor Totaka stories in one place.

Emulation enthusiasts have made another hacker’s discovery, this time in “X” a.k.a. “Ekkusu” for the Game Boy. The song is definetly in the soundtrack in simple, familiar form, but now the question remains: how to access it as a player?

Still nothing solid on the deconstruction of Wii Sports. Some people are chasing ghosts, desperately claiming vague resemblances as real discoveries.

Reports keep coming up that K.T. is credited in Wii Play, but it’s only as an advisor, not a composer. This does not arouse my expectations.

CORRECTION: Totaka is NOT credited in Warioland for the Game Boy. I apologize for perpetuating that misperception, but on the bright side: that shortens our known wanted list down to just Wii Sports and Waverace 64.

Totaka Tidbit

Phil Bond — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 05:18:41 +0000

This is not a new discovery. This has been a known piece of information since before I came upon the subject, but someone was nice enough to capture it on video for us, and that is new. For your trivial pleasure, we have Totaka’s Song and how to find it in “Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru.” Some English spellings of the title will differ, but it literally translates to “For the Frog the Bell Tolls.” Whatever you call it, the game was a Japan-exclusive release for the original Game Boy:

Gaming Archaeology: Totaka’s Song, Part 3

Phil Bond — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 06:00:13 +0000

One of Nintendo’s music composers, Kazumi Totaka, likes to hide a certain signature tune in the deepest, darkest crannies of his games. For details on the established facts, check out Part 1 and Part 2 of our coverage on the subject.

Today, we bring you a brand-new viewer-submitted discovery from within Luigi’s Mansion, a game previously previously held as my white whale.

Also: a nod to Wii Sports. Let’s all go dissect it.

Wii vs. the Power Glove

aDam — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 04:24:58 +0000

As innovative as the concept may seem the Wii remote is actually very similar in functionality to the Nintendo Power Glove from years past. Watch me compare the specifics of both technologies so that you can decide for yourself whether or not the Wii is just a Gamecube with a Power Glove attached to it.

* Disclaimer: Nintendo did not release the Power Glove. It was in fact released by Pax.

Gaming Archaeology: Totaka’s Song Revisited

Phil Bond — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 13:24:04 +0000

Back in September, I posted this video about a secret song hidden in many Nintendo games. The reception was very positive, and now I return to you with two new findings: one from Pikmin 2, and one from Virtual Boy Warioland. I also endeavor to inform on more games where you might want to look.

Credit goes to Nick Barba for finding the song in Virtual Boy Warioland, and to George Morgan for Pikmin 2.

Gaming Archaeology: Totaka’s Song

Phil Bond — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 16:32:39 +0000

Quirky Nintendo music composer Kazumi Totaka has a 19-note tune that he likes to hide in his games. Have you heard it? Do you know how pervasive it is? Is it still hiding in yet-to-be discovered places?

So far, the list includes Mario Paint, Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Yoshi’s Story, Link’s Awakening DX, Animal Crossing, Yoshi Touch ‘N’ Go, and Animal Crossing: Wild World, plus some games only released in Japan.

Fun fact that got left out of this video: In the final seconds, what the player is doing is entering their name as “Totakeke” in japanese. That predates Animal Crossing by several years.

Gaming Archaeology: R.O.B.

Phil Bond — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 01:33:05 +0000

He’s become an increasingly popular cameo in first-party Nintendo games, but what the Hell is R.O.B.? How does it work? Have you ever played Gyromite without cheating?

Questions? Refer to the Wikipedia page for which I claim total responsibility.