Shantae: Half-Genie Half-Hero ALL AWESOME

I have some exciting news for those of you that are interested in the upcoming Wayforward game, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero! According to Siliconera, the action platformer has hit another of its extended stretch goals, and will now include three more playable characters—Rottytops, Bolo and Sky—each with their own unique stories and abilities. The following is the tweet from Wayforward themselves acknowledging this momentous achievement:

#FUNDED #ShantaeHalfGenieHero : Hero Modes!! Expect to see something fancier Monday ^_^ Congrats Tinkerbackers! pic.twitter.com/ls8anZHo0A
— WayForward (@WayForward) August 24, 2014

There is a video available right now detailing some of the gameplay we will come to experience soon.

I find myself extremely pleased to have supported this title and I heartily look forward to its completion. Once again, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero will be available on the Nintendo Wii U, Sony PS3, PS4, VITA & VITA TV, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Xbox One and Steam (Windows PC).

Is there a Hyrulian Warrior in you?

Hello everyone! How've you been? Three days ago (August 4, 2014) Nintendo had a Hyrule Warriors Nintendo Direct presentation which aired 8:00 p.m. PST (11:00 p.m. EST). It can be viewed here for
those of you that missed it the first time.

Some of the highlights include the announcement of two-player co-op, additional playable characters including Ghirahim, Zant, and the ultimate face of villainy for the Zelda series, Ganondorf himself. Also, some other familiar faces made the roster such as the Goron Darunia, Princess Ruto of the Zora, and Sheik.

Lana, the White Sorceress (shown above), seems to be the most refreshingly new character (at least from my personal perspective) because she's key to the main plot of Hyrule Warriors and not much is really known about her motivations or backstory at this time. A majority of the Nintendo Direct presentation exposed more playable characters, but didn't touch up too much on the main villain for the game, the dark sorceress, Cia (shown below).

Image borrowed from IGN.com 

This is merely speculative on my part, but I would not be surprised if it were revealed that both Lana and Cia were related in some way, shape, or form (I'm predicting that they might actually be sisters). I have no real evidence to support this claim, but I'm putting this out there in the event that my theory proves to be true.

If players register the game with Club Nintendo between 9/26/14 and 10/23/14, they can receive a free download code for the Demon King Costume Set DLC (Downloadable Content), which contains two costumes for Ganondorf that you can use interchangeably.

There will be additional costumes that are specific to certain retailers, so be on the lookout for more information as it is made available. Hyrule Warriors will be available in North America starting September 26, 2014

Thank you for reading, your support, and comments! Please, if you are responding to a post, put a hashtag saying #Legit or #TrulyNotSpam because (as you might have surmised) I've been getting a lot of spam lately despite the word captcha tests I have put in place. It will help me to address your concerns or questions more efficiently. I apologize for the inconvenience, but it's been a bit of a nuisance.

New Nintendo Direct -- It's going to be a real SMASH hit!!!

A brand-new Super Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS oriented Nintendo Direct presentation will be streamed from the official website on Tuesday, April 8th, 2014 at 6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (3:00 p.m. Pacific Time). It will be available 23:00 UK time.

Nintendo Direct Video Link Featured Here

In addition to this important update, I have posted my personal top twelve desired fighters list for the new Super Smash Bros. IV game.

(Please note: Recovery moves HAVE to be kept in mind when picking characters. B+↑ not only has to fit the character, do some damage, and propel them upwards, but it's best if it is thought of as something from the character's universe.)

1. Viewtiful Joe (Nintendo Gamecube, Viewtiful Joe 1 and 2, Wii, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom) - Henshin A Go-Go Baby!!!
   
2. Krystal (Nintendo Gamecube, Star Fox Adventures, Star Fox Assault, etc.) - My only stipulation is that she keep her staff for combat. Other than that, Nintendo could use the more modern costumes/outfits that she's worn in the Star Fox series and I wouldn't mind.
   
3. Geno (Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Mario RPG)
   
4. Lucina (Nintendo 3DS, Fire Emblem: Awakening) - More strong, independent female fighters are desperately needed in the series and I for one, think Lucina would fit the bill nicely.
   
5. Gaius (Fire Emblem: Awakening) Gaius was a thief in Fire Emblem: Awakening with a sweet tooth like no other. He's got a great personality and I for one, would really like to have him playable as a character. At the very least, he should be an assist trophy.
   
6. Owain (Fire Emblem: Awakening) I really liked this character. When I was reading his speeches about his legendary sword hand, I got really pumped up and I wanted to make sure he joined my team in the game. Unfortunately, that never came to pass as no matter how many times I tried, he'd always die in the end. Still an awesome wielder of the "legendary" blade Mystletainn.
   
7. Magnus (Kid Icarus: Uprising) - He's got a big sword, he's pretty much a mercenary with a mouth (No, not like Deadpool), but I figure this recommendation will most certainly satisfy those Cloud (Final Fantasy) fanboys.
   
8. Amazon Pandora (Kid Icarus: Uprising) -  She's a stunningly gorgeous fighter, and she's got *drumroll* A SWORD!!! 
   
9. Mii Avatar - Would be sort of neat to see yourself in Smash Bros. I'm a bit concerned over some of the Miis created though (a lot of those created have inappropriate faces and you can download quite a few of them online) but if the movesets are customize-able, that would only further my desire for a Mii character option. I could visualize a B+↑ move being somehow related to Pilotwings: Resort in some manner, most likely a jetpack or something.
10. Shulk (Xenoblade Chronicles) - Although I've never been given the opportunity to play Xenoblade Chronicles, this blonde haired, blue eyed hero has a pretty killer looking sword. I happen to really like swords. I also like RPGs. BAM! He's made my list.
    
11. Fawful (Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga): He was a brilliantly hilarious villain and I would constantly taunt people saying "I have...FURY!"
    
12. Prince Fluff (Wii, Kirby’s Epic Yarn) - It would be nice to have a yarn looking character in Super Smash Bros. because you get to pummel string. Plus, it might get people more used to the idea of Yarn Yoshi coming out soon.
    

Honorable mentions:

1. Hades (Kid Icarus: Uprising) - He's a fun villain character because of the dialogue in the game. However, due to his standing (being a deity of sorts and his gargantuan size) he does not make my list. Palutena in Super Smash Bros. Brawl was part of Pit's Final Smash, Palutena's Army where he calls to the goddess Palutena for her army of Centurions. She was a large image in the background. If Sakurai intends to keep that attack the same for this new game, it would set precedent for her not to appear AND for Hades to be larger than life. I suppose he could be shrunk to the same height as the other fighters (like how Olimar from Pikmin was heightened to be relatively average to that of the other fighters but even so, it's way beyond what Ridley sized shrinking would be). In hindsight though, Palutena was normal sized in-game when you fought against her with the parasitic Chaos Kin so it's not too difficult to imagine a similar situation...
2. Zoroark and/or Mewtwo (Pokemon) - With Lucario and Pikachu returning, these two fighters would be a nice fit (I'm still dreaming of a Lucario vs. Mewtwo battle). With Zoroark in particular, it's a new pseudo-legendary Pokemon and would have the ability to look like other player characters. That could add an element of surprise. Maybe utilize their movesets perhaps?
3. Groose (The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword) - He was a jerk in the beginning, but ends up a pretty solid hero in the end of the game, but as to his moveset I wouldn't have a clue as to what his B+↑ would be, so he makes my honorable mention list.
4. Knuckles the Echidna (Sonic The Hedgehog 3) - He's got SPIKES on his huge knuckles. If he's not a "brawler" I don't know what is. Just don't put in the new version of him in Smash Bros. that makes him look like a buffed out Hulk or Crunch Bandicoot. I would love to glide with him (because his dreadlocks help him do so in previous games) and it would be interesting to see if some sort of digging move could be incorporated into his skill set because he's a treasure hunter.
5. Isaac (Golden Sun) - He was an assist trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and if Little Mac went from that to a playable character, I don't see why Isaac can't make the cut either. Once, again, this is another character from a game & franchise I've never played before, but I would be more than happy to welcome him to the roster.

Wii U Call of Duty: Ghosts - The Dead DLC Has Risen and It's Free(Fallin')!!!

The Wii U FINALLY has the FreeFall Map as of March 4, 2014.

@A_Trey_U posted at 4:26 PM - March 4, 2014: "Free Fall is now available to Wii U players in #CODGhosts and has been added to various playlists!"

This is the original YouTube Trailer that was shown for the PS3 and Xbox 360 version:

The map is absolutely free and comes with an update. You can see all the details of the most recent update here.

It's a 130 MB download for the Free DLC Map Free Fall and it's mandatory in order to play online multiplayer. All I can say is that it's about time that Treyarch and Nintendo got their acts together. For a VERY long time, the Nintendo versions of Call of Duty titles have been absent of downloadable content and maps from Treyarch/Infinity Ward/Activision. Now players can breathe a small sigh of relief that they'll be able to at least try one of these nearly exclusive stages. Hopefully, this will be a stepping stone towards future third party support and integration. Nintendo desperately needs all the help it can get right now.

One of Swords: Playing With Swords: COD Ghosts Game Day

One of Swords: Playing With Swords: COD Ghosts ... | Community

It looks like on Friday, February 21 from 6pm PT to 8pm PT (9:00p.m. -11:00p.m. EST) there will be an event hosted by OneOfSwords (That's his Nintendo Network ID) for Call of Duty: Ghosts on the Wii U. The link is enclosed above if you are interested. Basically it will be friendly matches in core objective playlists, mostly Domination.

Now, I know for some of you this is a bit short notice and I do apologize, but this knowledge did not come into my possession until this very morning. The original post was made on Feb 18, 2014 5:35:16 PM and wasn't brought to my attention until today. Nonetheless, I will try myself to make an appearance online if time permits. My Nintendo Network ID is Supergamesniper9.

You can follow Treyarch specifically for the Wii U version of Call of Duty: Ghosts on Twitter by following
@A_Trey_U

Mech Check, Testing, 1, 2, 3!!!

No, that's no typo (it's more of a pun on how often I come up on the Internet blog stage to talk to you all...I'm making sure the "mic" or "mech" in this instance is still working). I'm excited to be talking today to you all about another Kickstarter campaign I've stumbled across on my news feeds. It's called Project Nimbus by KISS Ltd. and it's about mechanized robots which are essentially humaniod machines controlled by human pilots (often for the purpose of warfare or competitive combat).

Project Nimbus

I've always loved the giant robot/mecha genre in both movies and games but the latter of the two is sort of lacking in terms of production.

For me, the last game that I personally owned and played with that dealt specifically with robots in a free-roaming-like environment was Custom Robo Arena (released in North America on March 19, 2007). It was a fun game but Nintendo hasn't published another installment to the franchise and to me, that's a little bit disheartening because I (and many others I'm certain) would really enjoy a new game either on the Nintendo 3DS or Wii U (preferably on both).

Nonetheless, Project Nimbus will be a "high speed mech action game set in a post apocalyptic world. Players control 'BattleFrames' - humanoid battles suits armed with an arsenal of weapons."

When they say "High Speed", they're not kidding around!!!

The game is apparently set in the late 21st century (known as the "Age of Sky"); taking place decades after a massive war broke out which decimated the entire surface of the Earth, causing it to no longer be able to sufficiently sustain human life. Thus, mankind had to take refuge in the heavens.


The world (or perhaps the skies) are divided into three different factions; each possessing its own orbital elevator that generates energy to keep the flying cities stable.

Players fly freely in the sky, dodge and intercept incoming missiles with machine guns and particle blades/beamswords, fighting colossal armies with the power to annihilate nearly anything imaginable, all while engaging with many ace BattleFrame pilots, each with their own unique, individualistic fighting styles and backstories.

The game seems to be reminiscent of Zone of the Enders (Konami, 2001) with its level of control in a three-dimensional environment. However, unlike Z.O.E, you can replay any of the cleared story missions with all of the BattleFrames you have encountered in your campaign. That means that your allies and the various enemy BattleFrames are available to pilot, from the grunts to even the ‘boss’ BattleFrames. Every ace pilot’s personal machine can be yours for the taking.

As of this post, the project will be funded on Saturday Jan 25, 10:03pm EST (it's currently raised £9,939 of its £6,000 goal). However, the development team as some pretty sweet stretch goals that it's trying to reach. (I've got a snapshot of them here for you to take a look at.)

The game is being made in Thailand (which is why GameCrafterTeam noted that the initial goal was so low. The cost of living in Phuket, Thailand (I laughed at that name.) is apparently much lower than in other locations). So their £6,000 goal converts to approximately $9801.60.

The game will be available on STEAM and may have multiplayer functionality later on (I'm REALLY banking on that feature. It seems almost a necessity for this genre). So, if you'd like to contribute, please visit the Project Nimbus Kickstarter Page.