There are a lot of couples in video games, but is there romance? Mario and Peach, Luigi and Daisy, Link and Zelda, The Brooding Loner and the Star-crossed Japanese Flower Girl Who Loves Him, and — of course — Samus and the baby Metroid. Do any of these games do romance well, or is it just assumed? And how far is too far with player-to-NPC romance? Sean and Vinnk wonder if video games can truly ever be your Valentine as they discuss these problems, the likelihood of your characters ever finding true digital love, and the potentially unfortunate state of Princess Zelda’s armpit hair.
Video games aren’t just about blowing up bad guys, pretending to be a secret agent, or saving galactic civilization from moon-sized cuttlefish. Sometimes they’re about everyday, ordinary things, like stock brokering! Or newspaper delivery! Or making dinner! Vinnk and Sean discuss these more “mundane” titles, and how surprisingly fun they can actually be. Haven’t you ever wanted to be a lawyer? Or start your own football league? With the power of video games, this could be you!
When Nintendo reported two straight quarterly losses in early 2011, followed by a less-than-stellar initial release of its new 3DS handheld console, it didn’t take long for the naysayers to begin spelling the company’s doom.
This is a familiar dance. It started in the ’90s, when Nintendo’s veneer of dominance started cracking in the face of competition with the Sega Genesis. Or maybe it was the decision to abandon the CD format for the Nintendo 64 when Sega and Sony made the leap. Or perhaps it was because, even with the GameCube, no Nintendo console had sold better than its predecessor — that is, until the release of the Wii.
However, despite calls that Nintendo abandon its hardware ambitions — even with the new wrinkle of the ever-rising iOS platform — there are plenty of reasons why Nintendo would never, could never, and should never stop making TV or handheld consoles.
With a slow shift to digital-only content, and the inability to share such content like you would lend a book or a disc, and publishers deliberately devaluing their game content through the use of activation codes and central server authenticaion, will there ever come a time when used games become a thing of the past? Sean and Vinnk explore why console games cost so much, why iOS games cost so little, and the ruin that would be visited upon the gaming industry if no one could lend out their games or buy used ones ever again.
It’s difficult to admit, but we all wear them. Maybe it’s because something made an impression on us at a young age. Maybe it’s because we just can’t admit flaws in the things that we love. It often takes seeing something through someone else’s eyes to finally see the things you refuse to see for yourself. Vinnk and Sean examine the games and movies of the ’80s where they must admit, sometimes painfully, that their nostalgia goggles are firmly in place. Even so, are there specific games (or movies) that are actually immune to the march of time?
Better late than never with this episode of KEEP PLAYING: Rewind, but totally worth it as I delve into the first part of the rich vampire-slaying history of the Belmont Clan (with a little bit of help) in my Castlevania 25th Anniversary Tribute!
Retro games may be beloved (if not exceedingly difficult), but do their descendants still have a place in the modern gaming world? When the original creator of a franchise moves on, is it time for the publisher to move on to something else? What about the fans? Phil Bond joins Sean and Vinnk this week as we discuss the cancellation of Mega Man Legends 3, and what nearly 50,000 people are trying to do about it.
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