Two classics come back...Part Two

The Return of the Kong

In 1981 Nintendo released an arcade game in America featuring an ill-tempered gorilla and a heroic laborer. (I found out that at this time in his life, Mario was a carpenter named Jumpman. I guess he picked up plumbing and dumped the pseudonym in '85). This gorilla was called Donkey Kong.

In the beginning we didn't know much about Donkey Kong. He was angry. He liked the princess. He hated that guy that jumped barrels to get at him.

Later, more of the story came out. In 1994 Donkey Kong Country hit the Super Nintendo and we could finally play Donkey Kong as the hero. With his side-kick Diddy Kong, Donkey battled through armies of mutant-gator thingies to recover his hoard of bananas. This game was tough. It was good-looking, challenging, and rewarded you for exploring. There were bonus rooms, interesting characters, variety of game play. It was great.

When the sequel came out the next year, it was great. Another sequel a year after that was great. It was a franchise that just kept getting better. The characters like Cranky and Funky Kong came to be old friends. When Donkey Kong came out for the Nintendo 64 it was with a full cast of new friends and old favorites. The same difficult but worthwhile challenges kept us coming back.

Donkey Kong has come back in a couple of solid games since then, including Jungle Beat, an innovative title that let you pound bongos to pound bad guys.

Last week Donkey Kong Country Returns came out for the Wii. Like Mario and Kirby, this title requires you to turn you Wii remote on its side and use the d-pad and two buttons to control the hero. Diddy returns as a side-kick and the hunt for bananas is on. It might be wiser for the Kongs to invest in a security system for the banana hoard but it would not be as much fun. Donkey and Diddy fight crazy tiki-controlled bad guys, ride mine carts, blast out of barrels and discover secret bonuses in a wild side-scrolling adventure. The graphics are beautiful. The gameplay is challenging. The classic DK-style is familiar and lovable. This game is tough, but for the preteen to adult set, it is a blast. And, as always, it's family friendly or I wouldn't be talking about it.

Two classics come back...Part One

I had the chance to play two of Nintendo's latest titles for the Wii. The Wii has proven to be the platform for family and casual gameplay. Before I had kids I played a lot of Playstation. The difference is I was playing games like Splinter Cell, Metal Gear Solid, Stars Wars Battlefronts and the like. They were games about war and espionage. Not family-friendly.

The Playstation is gone now. We have the Wii. I've already raved about New Super Mario Brothers for the Wii. As new games come out I get more excited about this game system. Nintendo has made playing video games not only family appropriate, but also family fun. Up to four players at a time means less arguing over taking turns. Childish themes with solid gameplay means even adult can have fun without going over the kids' heads.

Now Nintendo has brought back two classics. Kirby returns in Kirby's Epic Yarn. For those who don't remember this puffy, pink hero, Kirby came out for Gameboy and the NES in 1992. He could suck in enemies and copy their attacks.The game did well and a long series of sequels has come out for the various Nintendo platforms over the years.

Kirby returned this year. Unlike Super Mario Bros., which seemed to harvest the very best from Mario games and incorporate them into one title, Kirby Epic Yarn puts Kirby into a new world with new problems and new ways to solve them. In the fabric-and-thread universe of Epic Yarn, Kirby cannot suck enemies in, he has no 'in'. He and all his surroundings are cast in yarn. Instead he must shape shift or unravel his opponents as he may. Beads, buttons, and patches are the currency of the land and you'll have to collect them to move forward. The graphics are beautiful and the challenges are interesting. There's extras for those who love extras, but the main storyline is engaging (to a child) and will keep you moving. The game is not difficult; many enemies don't even hurt you, you just bounce off them. When Kirby falls in battle, you're carried back into action by a yarn-angel right where you left off, sans your collected beads. You turn the Wii remote side-ways (also like Mario) to play and only use two buttons and the directional pad to control Kirby. This is about as simple as it gets in video games. This is an excellent game for the ten and under set. My kids loved it.

If your looking for a new game this season to share with the family, give Kirby Epic Yarn a try.

Next post, Donkey Kong Country Returns.

My Old Flame...

When I was a kid, a company in Japan invented this new game console. The idea of a home video game machine had been around for over a decade, but I had only played Atari a few times. This new console was something different. It was an entertainment system; the Nintendo Entertainment System. And it came with a game. It was a funny little game about a plumber (and his brother if you wanted to take turns in two-player mode) who is inexplicably on a quest to rescue a princess from an army of sentient fungi and assorted turtle-like adversaries.

At the head of this army is your arch nemesis, Bowser. Is he a dragon? A lizard? A dinosaur? We're not told and we don't care. Why a plumber and not a knight or other more traditional hero? Who knows. Perhaps they were going for a protagonist more approachable, more working class.

Whatever the reason, this strange little game from the Land of the Rising Sun has grown into an entire subculture and Mario, the princess-rescuing plumber, has become synonymous with Nintendo Entertainment.

Twenty years later there may be as many as a hundred game titles feature the mustachioed hero. An exact count is difficult because he has appeared cameo-style in many more games than he has titled himself. As a kid  I loved playing all of the Super Mario titles, including the first three for the NES and the sequels that appeared on the Super Nintendo. Even today I spent an hour plugging away at Luigi's Mansion in which Mario's brother must rescue him from a haunted house. Mario RPG, Mario Kart, Paper Mario, and now that masterpiece (in my humble opinion) New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

The last thing I want to point out is that Nintendo's signature character, who has had blockbuster release after blockbuster release, who has sold titles that were downright awful based on his name alone, who has entertained generations of children and adults alike, often side by side, carries no gun, sheds no blood and advocates fair play, mercy, generosity and kindness toward others. Those who think I'm being sappy or exaggerating need to go back and replay some of those old titles. They're still available for download for the Wii, the latest Nintendo console. I've heard kids and adults alike complain that there are no quality games out there (quality meaning actually fun to play) that don't have at least some blood and violence or other questionable content. As a life-long Super Mario fan I protest that this simply isn't true.

I gave up my PS2 because I was spending too much time playing it and the titles were increasingly too 'adult'
for me to comfortable sharing with my kids. Now, I'm as excited as they are to play the Wii and my mom has to call and ask for her copy of Super Mario Bros. back when I borrow it. Talk about habit-forming.

(By the way, if you clicked on the 'awful' link up above, I have to confess I learned how to type on that program. And I was in high school. Guess it wasn't so awful.)