Displaying items by tag: Sonic

It was no secret to anyone, not to me for sure. The fact that the N64 was added to the Switch Online subscription was the next logical step.

The surprise for me? The price increase, which is justified and I will come back to it later. The other surprise, for me again, the addition of Sega Genesis games!

Yes we will be entitled to Ecco, Sonic and so many other Sega icons on our Nintendo Switch. I'm talking to the future but this all came out on October 26th folks! So if you don't have it yet or are looking to be convinced, I'm here for you.

Now let's talk about the price, how it has changed and why I think the price is justified to change.

First of all, the addition of games and especially two different consoles is quite significant. We are immediately entitled to Ocarina of Time, Lylatwars, Yoshi’s Island and others when it comes to the N64. Then we have Sonic (the 2nd), Street of rage, Phantasy Star IV and many others concerning the Sega.

They are games loved by everyone, which we can already enjoy without worry. So there are 9 games at launch for the N64 and 14 games for the Genesis. This brings more than 20 games from the start and we know that the catalogs will quickly evolve. This will allow you to enjoy more and more old-school games and while the new games are worth the effort, there are some must-haves to play even if "you're not of this generation".

While saying this I am thinking precisely of games like the old Sonic, Ocarina of Time or Banjo-Kazooie for example (not yet available on the other hand, yes please calm down). There are some games that are timeless, whether the old-school gameplay, or the graphics are not todays standards, no problem. These games are worth it anyway.

One great news about this expansion is that you can play online. Yes, you read that right. We can for example play Mario Kart 64 (yes go crazy it is part of the launch catalog) at 4 on 4 different consoles and even each at home. It's just great because it brings real modernity to this catalog of old games.

That's not all, for my part I find that the previous arguments are sufficient to explain the price increase, but there is still more. Fans of Animal Crossing New Horizon, I am talking to you. AND there are many of you, really. There will be an add-on called "Happy Home Paradise!" You need to have the initial game to enjoy it, so you can show off your beautiful creations and play (to some extent) your favorite game online.

Note that if you are not interested in the subscription, you can purchase from the store and therefore download this extension separately. Not insignificant for those who are not interested in the rest of the add-on pack.

With these fairly large additions I find the price difference worth it. For the standard subscription, we therefore go from € 19.99 per year to 39.99. We still stay at a very reasonable price.

By adding consoles to the subscription, we have to think that new controllers will be available. And you would be right to think so.

Indeed a new N64 controller and a Mega Drive (with three and not six buttons) will be / are available. The one for the N64 should already be available but at the time I am writing this I see that it cannot be ordered because it is "currently unavailable". As for the one for the Mega Drive, it is not possible to purchase it at the moment nor is it rated as "unavailable". It should therefore be available in the coming weeks.

For my part, the additional pack has already been taken, the price varies depending on your current subscription and the initial date. So you only pay the difference and that's great news.

I was convinced by these additions knowing also that it was going to evolve. The only small negative point to note would be the different buttons between N64 and Switch. Indeed to easily play Lylatwars for example you have to be very careful to master the combination of buttons.

It's not very simple and the N64 controller will be a real positive contribution to smoothly play the games of this legendary console.

I hope you will have found answers to your questions and that you will be able to make the choice that is best for you!

In the meantime, good game to all!

May 2002 gave us an imperishable, iconic gift that will remain forever etched in our memories. For the less old this console must also resonate in them because it is one of the consoles that everyone must know.

Altough, we don't judge, but if you don't know her... it's a bit... anyway. We don't judge! We just don't find it normal. Of course, jokes aside, this console is a real success for me. It has seen the birth of a multitude of great games, a controller engraved in our memories. And for those who don't see what controller I'm talking about, I'll let you know a little later.

I asked the friends of the association to give me some games or other information that marked them to honor this console on this 20th anniversary.

I start with our president Alex:

To put it simply, we are going to talk about Skyes of Arcedia, a great game, really incredible. Phantasy Star Online, a game dried in coop (with me the bro) and other friends. Without forgetting the legendary Super Smash Bros Melee (thanks to the controller) which was just amazing. And then the magnificent Mario Kart Double Dash, which is a real novelty in the game.

He is right the president, great games. It is true that these choices are superb. Double Dash is still one of my all-time favorites to this day.

I continue with Patrick our treasurer:

Our president hit the nail on the head with Skies of Arcadi and Phantasy Star Online. I will add Super Mario Sunshine, the atmosphere of the game that makes you want to travel, sun and holidays. All this mixed with the fun of a Mario close to perfection!

Our treasurer has good taste! Sunshine, this Mario was remarkable for its unique gameplay! A great game and a really nice plot! In addition, the game is available in the Mario 3D collection by Nintendo, something to delight anyone who wants to play it again or play it for the first time!

Jo our Community Manager joins our two friends:

I follow Alex and Patrick with Double Dash and Sunshine! For my part I add Mario Striker! This soccer game with Mario characters is just awesome. Its mechanics give it a plus so that it is not just “football with Mario”

Once again a great choice! Jo adds Striker which is indeed a superb game, perhaps less iconic but of an equally excellent quality!

So for my part, I have a lot of things that come to mind. The games and memories fuse!`

I'm going to talk about a few things, but first let's get back to the controller. And yes, for those who love Super Smash on Nintendo Switch, many choose the “Battle Pad” controller, well it is neither more nor less than the official Game Cube controller.

With Alex, we had the two controllers with the colors, I would say, basic. The console was initially released in purple and black. It must be said, in purple it was something magnificent! I remember another detail about this controller, yes it was the first wireless controller for us!

So no, it was wired, but Nintendo released the same controller in gray which was wireless! There was a receiver that you plugged into the controller input in the console. There was a wheel to choose between position 1 to 4. The joystick then synchronized and presto! wireless controller!

It was superb, efficient and had a fairly long charging time! For me, it is a memory engraved forever!

For the games I will not cite any games already mentioned, although some are among my favorites. I told you that the console was iconic, it's naturally due to its games! So here are some of them:

First there is Metroid Prime, the first Metroid in 3D quite simply. Complicated, beautiful, immersive. Superb gameplay and 3D that works (I personally find). In fact, this is the first Metroid game I've played. It's an understatement to say that I loved the franchise from the start.

Then I will add Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicle. Did you really expect me not to put a Final Fantasy in it? Although the game play is not at all my favorite, you can quite easily get used to it by immersing yourself in its story. Plus you can play it in co-op and that was great. Very poetic, complex and moving, from this point of view it is a total success.

Then I will talk about Sonic Adventure 2: Battle. 3D, Sonic, robot speed and total fun! The "Halloween" level with Knuckles still gives me cold sweats today! For the time it was beautiful and so fluid. It was a total pleasure to play it and replay it.

I will end with the games already mentioned: I really miss Mario Kart Double Dash, Phantasy Star Online was a dream game that I will never forget, it had to come out!

Do not hesitate to give us your opinion and your list of Game Cube games!

Have a good game everyone!

I wanted to tell you a bit about two worlds that I love. In particular cinema and video games. For the latter, I suppose you knew it since I am part of this non-profit organization ...

Anyway let's start with the small list of games / movies I want to talk about. Quite recently we have seen the emergence of certain films or film shoots. This list here it is, Uncharted, Sonic, Borderlands and Mortal Kombat.

They are all more or less in the news and are all part of the very latest films released or to come. We're going to review each film a bit.

So let's start with Uncharted. Very interesting. For my part, I am not very fond of films on video games and video games on films. It's often (for me) disappointing. It must be said that for Uncharted this seemed to become a project that was going to die in the bud.

Quite simply, since 2010 we have been talking about this film and it still has not been released! There were several directors who abandoned the project, the script was completely rewritten. It has to be said that the production really wanted a movie about this game because it was never about giving up.

There was even an announcement from Mark Wahlberg, that the production denied, he would have the lead role, also it was said he had no connection to the project. So that's right, he doesn't have the lead role, but he'll just be Drake's mentor, the so-called Sully. Lots of hassle though.

After the storm, calm. Yes normally it's the opposite but in this case the storm was before. Tom Holland will be Drake, so he's a young Drake to the stories we've been through in the game.

In this case I think the storyline can actually work and it's smart to create a whole new story. What does or can be lacking is precisely to recreate a story from a game in film. This can only be disappointing. There, fans will have to find certain haunts while being immersed in a story they may not know. This will make it all more interesting and less frustrating. So see what it will be when it comes out.

Next, let's talk about Sonic. The film released last year caused quite a stir. And not for the right reasons. Despite the good casting, especially with Jim Carrey as Eggman, the critics have rocketed. While the trailer sounded good and the movie looked promising, it had to be seen that Sonic was the concern. Its design was not at all faithful to what we might know. And if there was a mistake not to be made, it was good to miss Sonic for his own movie.

But the criticisms were heard and we can say that the correction was more than satisfactory. You might not like the movie and its script, but from a design point of view Sonic and Robotnik characters were really well done. A successful visual result. For the rest, everyone has their own opinion!

Let's move on to Mortal Kombat. Regarding this franchise, we have already had films. We will not come back to it. Let's just talk about the last movie. Casting is very well chosen. The storyline respects what the franchise represents and above all visually it's superb!

We are amazed, the scenes and effects look well done and the costumes very well suited to the cinema.

The under-16 ban is naturally appropriate and I would even say that was expected. The promises made for this film have been kept and it is important to underline that too!

Finally, let's talk about Borderlands. Probably the most promising film on the list. No real issue during production or filming (still in progress), during E3 we were treated to updates and see that visually it seems to be very beautiful. The casting is XXL in particular with Kevin Hart, Jack Black or Cate Blanchett.

The script is also new, it will not be able to frustrate the fans and this is a very important point (in my opinion). Quite simply, by doing this you are automatically taking away certain lairs from fans so that they cannot be waiting for something to happen that they are impatiently waiting for and you will not be too much in comparison.

With the production being closely tied to the game's creators / producers, the film has everything to become a box office hit.

Also see what the future has in store for us on this subject.

For my part, I am a fairly easy client and easily manage to dissociate an adapted work from the original one. Yet I have often been disappointed anyway! That is, how often we've been treated to bad things, either way or the other.

I think that what made these 4 works to be a success or to have been a success, lies in the fact that the chosen works lend themselves well to being part of the world of cinema. With the means today one can easily have a faithful rendering of a Mortal Kombat, a materialization of a brilliant Sonic. Then the stories offered by the Uncharted and Borderlands franchises also make it possible to create an all-new story that fits completely into the universe of these games.

For the latter, the future will tell whether the choice was the right one. In the meantime I wish you a good game or a good movie!

A genre that goes well with others. Totally iconic characters. Whether we are talking about platform games or a mix of platform and action or adventure, there are a lot of games.

Here's a little list to see just how much this genre has created iconic characters:

Mario, Sonic, Crash Bandicoot, Samus Aran, Spyro, Rayman, Mega Man, Donkey Kong and more.

Mario is probably the best known of all. The little guy who makes his way through dangers with fireballs, red, green or blue shells etc.

Crash Bandicoot which was reborn after a magnificent Remaster and a brilliant 4th opus. Rayman who with his particular style can make us angry but continually love his stories.

Donkey Kong, although already in the video game scene has a huge notoriety too (maybe especially) thanks to his games on Super Nintendo.

Sonic who has become such an unmistakable and recognizable character. It remains one of a kind to this day.

Spyro what can I say, this fiery little dragon who must help his fellows when he does not yet really know how to fly. Will we be entitled to a new opus on Next Gen? It would be nice.

Samus Aran who knew how to impress everyone because until the end of the (first) game you couldn't tell she was a woman. She became a real icon of the video game world. A new game is coming soon (it's about time)

Mega Man who is certainly recognizable and known to players, it is perhaps less so to people who do not play regularly. This character remains a reference all the same.

This genre has bound to be a part of my life since playing video games. Sometimes impossible to follow, other times too simple. The developers always do everything they can to be able to confuse you and make you angry. Let's face it, there is a bit of nastiness behind it all. They love to see us suffer.

We must also say that we want more. This genre has been around for so long. If we take Mario as an example we are in 35 years of agony, rage and questioning about life. I'm exaggerating a bit, it's true.

Remember your last games on this kind of games. There is some truth to it.

Recently I got back to Metroid on NES and SNES. I have these games via my Nintendo Switch. Thanks to the subscription I even bought the controllers to have the same feeling as in the past.

If you have any doubts about the quality, check out my article on controllers. I say more. Honestly, we can easily find ourselves 25 years back. These games remain fun to play and their story is well written.

We continue to have a lot of fun. Like a lot of people I also have the new versions of Crash and Spyro. Games that I loved replaying and can't wait to pick up again just by writing these few lines.

What makes these games enjoyable lies precisely in the difficulty and the pace. You have to be sure to jump, run or attack at the right time. All of this is a real challenge and gamers love to take on challenges.

The pace is pretty brisk too, cut off by boss fights, where  it's more a matter of what moves the opponent makes in order to be able to counter them or not get ripped off. We also have bonus stages, like having to fly with Spyro, through rings and in a time limit.

Also having so many different worlds, levels, stages in these games that renew the desire to play and to succeed. The more we advance, the easier it is not to be fooled by monsters, robots or other adversaries.

As gamers who got to play the early games of these characters and saw the birth of some, it's a real pleasure to see that platform games continue to be so popular.

Only the Crash and Spyro Remasters prove it. Both "old" and young gamers agree on these games and that's great news. While some, like Mario, are so iconic that every game will be a success, other games like this exist and they have their own well-deserved glory.

So don't hesitate, if you want to take on a challenge, if you want to rage or live unforgettable adventures, platform games are for you!

Don’t hesitate to give it a go and have a good game!