ReBoot Magazine

ReBoot

The Magazine For Retro Games On Modern Consoles May 2013

Luigi’s Mansion 2 Pikmin 3

The Latest News and Reviews

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Welcome Hello and welcome to the first issue of Reboot magazine. This magazine is aimed at lovers of retro games on the modern console.

This week we have a sneak peek at the new HD remake of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, with a comparison of the before and after screenshots.

Also we have a review of the new Luigi’s Mansion 2 and a preview of Pikmin 3, both games that have been in development for over five years.

We have a look at Luigi’s look through the ages. As well as a look at the Harvest Moon franchise.

Enjoy.

Louise Reilly

Editor

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The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker

The 2003 Smash Hit Comes Back in HD

THE LEGEND of Zelda franchise is Nintendo’s gift that keeps on giving. Aside from the bestselling games in the series, there’s even more money to be made for Nintendo by rebooting old games.

This year saw the release of the 1998 classic The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time revamped in 3D and the announcement that the 2003 Gamecube smash hit The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker will be released for the Wii U in HD. Wind Waker took the Legend of Zelda franchise in a completely new direction. Gone were the dark and detailed graphics of Ocarina of Time, replaced with bright simplified colour schemes.

It had the potential to go horribly wrong but the majority of gamers loved it.

My first experience of Wind Waker was in a Gamecube demo disc, as soon as I played the 20 minute demo level I knew I had to buy it. The art style was unlike anything I had seen before and the combat was easy to pick up and play straight off the bat. This sense of nostalgia was stirred when I first heard about the reboot and I knew I had to buy it

all over again. Wind Waker was a game for both hardcore and casual gamers alike, so it is a natural choice for a remake.

In a crafty move Nintendo split the franchise into Wind Wakeresque games and classically dark Zelda games. Meaning no matter what style you prefer they still receive your custom.

The initial screenshots of the HD revamp look beautiful compared to the original. A new filter has

been used to give every screen a dewy glow, adding to the simplistic and bright feeling of the game. By comparison the original, which once looked so modern and smooth, looks clunky and out of date.

The HD update enhances the already unique art style, although no combat scene screen shots have been released which is where the art style really comes into its own. The previously unseen blending of 2D and 3D art styles was revolutionary for the

Original

games industry inspired one of the most superficially amazing games of the last decade, Okami.

The audio from the original game will also receive a higher quality, more advanced revamp. Details on the audio technology that will be used have not yet been released.

Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of the Legend of Zelda games, said: “we felt that HD could really sort of breathe new life into that animation style and so that was

HD Remake

the reason we went into that direction.”

Is it enough for Nintendo to simply add filters and improve the look of a game and expect gamers to buy it all over again? This formula seems to have worked so far, in part due to the nostalgic tugging on customer’s heartstrings. The Wind Waker style of game has let itself well to DS and 3DS games due to its simplistic art style and combat, allowing the smaller processor of the DS to render quickly and

easily. It is a testament to the newest technology that a game that ten years ago would have been played on a console can now be played on a handheld device.

However the Wind Waker reboot is not the only Zelda game in the works, a new Wii U Zelda title has been announced for next year.

The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD will be released in 2014.

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Luigi’s Mansion 2

Eagerly Awaited for 11 Years

LUIGI’S Mansion made its first debut in the UK in May of 2002, nearly 11 years later the franchise now has another installment.

Luigi’s Mansion 2 was released on the 3DS last month. The long awaited sequel has so far sold 1.22 million units worldwide.

But has it fulfilled the expectations of fans of the original?

The graphics have certainly improved, gone are the glitchy polygons giving way to gorgeous 3D visuals. The game still stays true to its original artwork style however, there’s no mistaking it as a continuation of the original.

The gameplay also harks back to the original, which has been criticized as being too similar and not progressive enough. It is a hard task to balance between fans of the first installment and those who want an entirely new direction.

The Poltergust 5000 is Luigi’s weapon of choice, essentially a vacuum for hoovering up ghosts, an updated version of the Poltergust 3000 used in the first game. This tie in is a pleasant addition that links back to the original game, nostalgic gamers

will definitely pick up on this.

The game does become slightly repetitive as there are several mansions to exorcise, after the third one it becomes monotonous. This seems to have been noticed by the developers and the fifth mansion has some twists to spice up the action and keep the player interested until the end.

Two player co-operative mode has also been introduced named ‘ScareScraper’ which allows players to work together to hunt

ghosts. Although a two player coop is a nice addition to the game, a head to head competitive two player would have also been a nice touch.

The kitsch factor that made the first game so successful seems to resonate in the newest installment. This is in no small part due to the plot, aided also by fun character names such as Professor E. Gadd. This is a factor that many games strive for but few stop at a fun pun and the developers end up making the whole game a cheesy, cringey mess.

Luigi Through the Ages The Perpetual Sidekick Has His Own History

THE BROTHER of the famous plumber, Mario, Luigi has been in his brother’s shadow since his first appearance in 1983 in the arcade classic Mario Bros.

He went on to be a part of the next two Super Mario Bros. games.

Luigi’s Mansion on the Gamecube was Luigi’s first starring role in 2002.

and Super Smash Bros.

Although Luigi wasn’t included in the original Super Mario 64 he was included in the DS remake.

Mario Spin-Offs Luigi then appeared in the NES game Super Mario Bros. in 1985.

Luigi also appears in a number of spin off games such as Mario Kart

brother, stars in his own series of games. Wario Ware is one such game in which players battle against a series of increasingly hard mini games.

LUIGI is not the only Mario Princess Peach, Mario’s love Character to receive his own interest, also stars in games such spin-off. Wario, Mario’s evil as Super Princess Peach. This was

Luigi is also a playable character in Super Mario Bros. Wii U, the first HD installment in the series.

an effort by Nintendo to attract more female gamers to the brand.

Even Yoshi, essentially Mario’s pet, has his own spin off series, Yoshi’s Island.

Nintendo has managed to make this group of supporting characters into video game stars in their own right.

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Pikmin 3 - Five Years in the Making

PIKMIN 3 will be released on the Wii U later this year.

Pikmin started as a lower budget game in 2002 for the Gamecube, conceived by Shigeru Miyamoto.

The game focuses on Captain Olimar, a space ship captain, who has been stranded on an alien planet. To survive and escape he has to enlist the aid of a native species, Pikmin, tiny creatures who work together to carry out larger tasks.

The first Pikmin game was very well received and a sequel soon followed in 2004. In this installment Captain Olimar returns to the Pikmin world to collect items to make money, again aided by the Pikmin.

These games have already received a new reboot onto the Wii U virtual console but another installment has been long awaited. The new game was hinted at in 2007 and officially confirmed to be in development in 2008. Five years later and a launch date has been set in Japan

and America, though Europe only has a vague 2013 launch window.

The third game brings two new types of Pikmin to the mix, grey and pink for rock attacks and

winged attacks respectively.

No details of the plot have been released thus far but more details are likely to emerge in the next few months.

Harvest Moon - The Perfect Formula?

HARVEST Moon is a relaxing farming simulator, first released in 1996 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

Over the years 16 Harvest Moon games have been released, with varying degrees of success. Some games have been less successful due to game mechanics but the basic formula has always been the same.

The game invariably transports you to a small town where you have inherited a farm. During the course of farming life you acquire more livestock, land and even love interests.

characters such as the Harvest Goddess and the Harvest Sprites.

These magical creatures help out around your farm and set various tasks for you to complete.

games during the years, mostly technological advances, but the essence of the game stays the same. In a world where franchises can change radically it’s refreshing to see a franchise stay true to its roots.

Virtual Console Gems

There are a host of recurring

THE 3DS has given many retro games new life by making them available on the Virtual Console section of the Eshop. This section boasts games from the era of the Gameboy, Gameboy Colour, NES and Sega Game Gear.

The first game to receive this treatment was the 1985 Nintendo Entertainment System classic Excitebike. The updated version features a custom track creator as

Some things have changed in the

well as all the fun of the original.

The excellent GameBoy game Meteroid II: Return of Samus has also been revamped for the Virtual Console. This game was first released in black and white in 1992.

The prices for the Virtual Console games are reasonable considering the amount of work that has gone into bringing them up to date.

The 3D rendering alone takes hundreds of hours and the added features also take up developer’s time.

Upcoming titles for the Virtual Console are The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons along with Mega Man 6.

These are all due to be released later this year.

The Wii U also has a Virtual Console section, although there are not as many titles, due to its later release date. Only eight games currently feature on the Wii U’s Virtual Console, including Super Mario World and Ice Climber.

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Nintendo Land Tutorial or Real Game?

NINTENDO LAND was released for the Wii U earlier this year and is thus far the most successful title for the Wii U.

The appeal of this game is that it shows new users of the Wii U how to interact with the console and controller. But don’t be fooled into thinking that it is only a tutorial demo, Nintendoland is packed full of mini games that can be played solo or with a friend.

Players can battle against up to four other players. The multiplayer option cannot be played online however, only locally by connecting more controllers to the console.

Nintendo Land allows players to use the classic Wii controllers for the multi player experience, a

wise move as an extra Wii U controller can be costly.

The mini games all come from feature Nintendo titles such as

The Legend of Zelda, Luigi’s Mansion and Animal Crossing.

The game also allows players to dress their avatars in the clothes traditionally worn by the main characters of the mini game they are playing.

This is a clever tactic by Nintendo to show fans how classic titles will look on Nintendo’s first HD console. There are also a number of games in which players can play as a team and others in which they can play competitively.

By playing the mini games the player collects coins and items for their own Nintendo Land Plaza, which their friends can come to visit. This adds a more competitive element that adds to the longevity of the game.

Although the item gathering adds to keeping the game fresh the mini games can become repetitive after a few games of each. The games include varying levels of difficulty but not much changes from level to level.

collect within the game, to improve the Nintendo Land Plaza.

Many of these items reference to older Nintendo games, for example players can collect a Triforce from The Legend of Zelda series.

Players are escorted round this new world by Monita, an AI monitor, who explains how the game works and how to use the Wii U’s controller. In true Nintendo fashion Monita is an annoying sidekick, just one in a long line of annoying Nintendo AI’s.

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good game in its own right.Nintendo has reaped the rewards of this choice as the game has sold 2.6 million units, its popularity so far unmatched in the Wii U games market.

This game is an innovative way to show players how to use the new technology while also being a

Games Featured in Nintendo Land

There are a number of items to

The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest

Luigi’s Ghost Mansion Donkey Kong’s Crash Course

Pikmin Adventure

Animal Crossing: Sweet Day

Takamura’s Ninja Castle

Metriod Blast

Mario: Chase Mii

Captain Flacon’s Twister Race

Balloon Trip Breeze

Yoshi’s Fruit Cart

Octopus Dance