Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Super Mario Madness...

NES - Super Mario Bros.  (2nd Quest) World 8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6017jHLQ_0
by DarkEvil87
While playing Super Mario All-Stars, after completing the second quest in the original Super Mario Bros, I was curious to see if the revised ending was anything like the original NES game...

(Countless years of experiencing with mind-enhancing video games has left anything played in the 80's to be pretty hazy)

I was lucky enough to find footage of possibly one of the best NES Mario players out there, finishing the game in style, and conquering the entire 8th world in 4.46.

The sickest footage of the clip is at 1.49, where he performs delicate hops to avoid criss-crossing Bullet Bills and a Buzzy Beetle, while alternately nabbing coins from a multi-coin block between jumps. You gotta see it to believe it! If you're an oldschool Mario fan, take 5 minutes to re-live the Mario adventure that started it all.

Super Mario Bros (2nd Quest) World 8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6017jHLQ_0
by DarkEvil87

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Preoccupied with 1985...


Super Mario Bros:
Only Fire Mario can unmask King Koopa!
Using fireballs will reveal various foes posing as Bowser...
 Oldschool Mario kicks ass! Sure, new Mario games are epic adventures... But the original games are classic. I was playing Super Mario All-Stars for fun, and somehow got hooked on the original Super Mario Bros, and ended up playing through the entire game.

(View Screenshots Photo Album)

I recently discovered that even on the original NES, defeating any of the Bowsers in the first 7 castles with fireballs will turn them into various enemies before they fall into the lava pit... The very first Bowser turns into a Goomba, while Lakitu is the real boss behind castle #5. I can't believe I never knew this...


The backgrounds and graphics were also updated in Super Mario All-Stars, with a fortified castle wall serving as an appropriate backdrop for World 8-3, right before Bowser's castle.
 







Complete Super Mario Bros, and the Princess sends you on a "Second Quest". (Basically the same adventure all over again, the game has replaced all Goombas with Buzzy Beetles, and Koopa Troopas now move quicker.) In the Super Mario All-Stars ending of the first Super Mario Bros game, after defeating Bowser Koopa, a Super Mushroom falls from the sky so that full-sized Mario can share a dignified kiss with the Princess... (Kinda like the Mushroom Kindgom equivalent of Viagra...)

The
Super Mario All-Stars ending has the Princess is dangling from a cage over a lava pit, with a slight update in text. It's about time we got a room, Princess..
.

(View Super Mario Bros: Screenshots Photo Album)

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Wii Bit of GoldenEye Testing...


Though I don't recommend modifying your Nintendo Wii software, the system can be used to play SNES and N64 ROMS...

After loading up a modded GoldenEye 007 on the big screen, I got to see my favorite N64 game, fully customized, played using a GameCube controller on the Nintendo Wii. It's like evolution had gone full circle.

Completely customized missions/multiplayer maps, even the ones that other people have made... Including Goldeneye X, shown here.

It's not difficult, just involves multiple of steps. GoldenEye ROMS can be edited using the GoldenEye/Perfect Dark Setup Editor from goldeneyevault.com. After new levels are added, the ROM file is saved to an SD card. The game is accessed via the Homebrew Channel, and played on an N64 emulator like Wii64.

Of course, my excitement dwindled as I approached a guard... The framerate starts to lag bigtime, followed by loud, metallic "vinyl tunnel" grinding sound effects that make me want to keep the game on mute. But hell, I didn't even expect it to load. At least I can walk around and explore levels I've modified, or new ones that I've downloaded. So close, yet so far!

There could be some potential... I'd like to play fully customized Multiplayer GoldenEye on the couch, just like the good old days... I gotta wonder if anyone's actually gotten it to work without the horrible lag or grinding sound effects...