Toronto Thumbs

Made of Win
Tales of Symphonia Limited Edition Japenese GameCube

By Shaun Hatton - November 29th, 2009

Pictured above is the incredibly awesome Tales of Symphonia Limited Edition Japenese GameCube with Game Boy Player. A & C Games in Toronto has this hot little item in its store right now, and just posted this photo of it on their Facebook page today. I want this, along with many other things. Nevermind that I actually do own a GameCube and a Game Boy Player (I stupidly sold my copy of Tales of Symphonia ages ago, it seems).

A & C Games is hands down one of the coolest game shops around town, so if you’re in the neighbourhood and are looking for some awesome classic gaming deals, be sure to check them out.

Posted in Awesome, GameCube | 3 Comments »

Looking Back On Luigi’s Mansion

By Shaun Hatton - September 16th, 2009

Luigi’s Mansion was a launch title for Nintendo’s previous home console, the GameCube. It was also one of the first GameCube games I owned. True to form, I had selected my next console based on which one had the coolest-looking Star Wars title. Back when the Nintendo 64 was released, I had purchased Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire weeks before actually being able to get a hold of the system (as an unemployed high school student with no reliable means of transportation, this was harder than you would think).

But of course with the Nintendo 64, there was also the promise of the arcade hits Killer Instinct and Cruisin’ USA making their home debut, and although these titles haven’t aged well, they were pretty freaking groundbreaking at the time. Nintendo 64 served me well through college, where I was much too busy to game. I only had five games for it, and for me it was my Star Wars system (SOTE and Star Wars: Rogue Squadron would take turns being the go-to game).

When the GameCube was released, I initially sought after it as a successor to my Star Wars-playing console. After all, Star Wars: Rogue Leader looked amazing. I actually bought that game before even owning a GameCube. I didn’t know it at the time of its release, but the GameCube would ultimately become the console that brought me back into gaming after a casual absence. To think: it was actually just part of my ever-growing Star Wars collection at the time.

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Posted in Blast From the Past, Editorial, GameCube | 5 Comments »

The Magic of Animal Crossing

By Shaun Hatton - August 10th, 2009

When Animal Crossing was released for the GameCube, I was living in a gaming media blackout situation. All I knew about the game was what was shown in the reality show-style advertisements for it on a GameCube demo disc I got from a friend who worked at Toys R Us. In these humorous ads, people in foam fabric costumes talked about moving into town with their friends and the general presentation made it seem like a spoof of shows like The Real World.

These were simpler days for me, and the fact that I still lived with my parents meant I had a lot more disposable income. The first time I saw Animal Crossing in a store, I purchased it. The first time I played it, I found it to be overly cute and charming. The game set itself up nicely and everything it presented fit perfectly into place in its small world. Characters in the town had immediately recognizable personality types. Some I instantly loved while others instantly annoyed me. It was a lot like this thing called real life, only cuter.

It was Animal Crossing that eventually prompted me to purchase Nintendo’s poorly supported eReader accessory for the Game Boy Advance. By using it in conjunction with the GBA-to-GameCube connector cable, players could scan in special Animal Crossing cards and those in turn would unlock special items and features in the GameCube game. It was a gimmick that worked on me, as I traded in a few older (and bad) games I had reviewed in return for store credit and more cards. I have all these cards somewhere still.

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Posted in DS, Editorial, GameCube, Wii | 2 Comments »

Metroid Prime Trilogy Coming To Wii

By Shaun Hatton - May 22nd, 2009

This news could be construed as an argument for the existence of God. Metroid Prime Trilogy is coming to Wii. The one-disc compilation will include the GameCube classics Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes with updated Wii controls as found in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Additionally, these re-worked games will also feature a widescreen presentation and still-unannounced updates.

The disc will drop August 24 for a suggested retail price of $59.99 and, even though I have the three titles as their stand-alone versions, I will be buying it.

Metroid Prime was one of the games that started Adam and me on our weekly gaming get-togethers. Our Fridays all those years ago consisted of mountain biking through treacherous terrain for a few hours and then grabbing some late supper (usually a pizza each but sometimes sushi) and hunkering down to play games till the sun rose. For the most part, we would play single-player games by taking turns either playing or yelling at the other person for messing things up. We still call the particular pizza we would order for our Metroid gaming marathons “Metroid Pizza.”

Posted in Awesome, GameCube, News Bytes, Wii | 2 Comments »

WE’VE GOT TO BUY MORE TIME
Lando Calrissian Rocks

By Shaun Hatton - December 20th, 2008

Jamie and I started talking this morning about Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader, specifically why the Death Star raid level is so difficult. At the end of Return of the Jedi, Han Solo and a squad of Rebels deactivate the Death Star’s shield generator on the forest moon of Endor (which the Death Star is orbiting). This allows a fleet of Rebel starfighters to begin their attack on the battle station.

Although the word tends to be over-used in gaming press, this battle is epic. Its video game representation in Rogue Leader is as well. In this final level, the first segment is an enormous space battle with the Empire’s forces. The attack on the Death Star can’t truly begin until Han Solo and his team de-activate the shield generator. When Rogue Leader’s successor, Rebel Strike, was released, the game included a two-player mode for the previous game.

Adam and I played through the two-player version like men possessed. When we reached the Death Star level, something odd happened: Lando Calrissian had lost it.

In what we perceived to be a glitch, Calrissian kept repeating, “We’ve got to buy more time!” At first there were gaps of a few seconds between the repetition, but soon the “we’ve” followed the “time” so closely it sounded like it was part of the same sentence. I’m not sure if it was the fact that we find anything funny, or if we were just awake way too late (gaming sessions would sometimes end at 6 a.m. in those days) but we thought it was the funniest thing ever.

In fact, I’m going to call Adam right now and just say “We’ve got to buy more time!” to see what happens.

Posted in Awesome, Editorial, GameCube | 2 Comments »

WE BUILT THIS CITY
Thoughts on Animal Crossing

By Shaun Hatton - November 19th, 2008

I spent hours upon hours with the GameCube Animal Crossing when it was released in 2002. Part of the reason I bought it was because it came with a memory card and was cheaper than most games. A game plus a memory card for less than the price of one game seemed like a great deal at the time.

Upon playing it for the first time I was greeted by the strange but compelling characters who inhabited my town, Broktoon. A game with no clear goals nor ending was a new concept for me and the bright and colourful world of Animal Crossing took me in like no other game before it. I’d spend my time planting flowers, digging up fossils, and writing letters to the townspeople. I’d even write mean letters to the cranky cat of the town, telling her I hated and wished death upon her. Imagine my surprise when she flaunted it in front me, saying how dare I write such mean things to her!

My real life at the time consisted of going to work, coming home and eating, and playing Animal Crossing to pass the time till the evening, where I would call my long-distance girlfriend (whom I’m now married to). When we’d talk on the phone, I’d quickly tell her about all the goofy things that happened in Broktoon that night. “Tom Nook painted my roof purple!”

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Posted in DS, Editorial, GameCube, Wii | 4 Comments »

Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
It’s Coming to Wii

By Shaun Hatton - November 17th, 2008

Nintendo news channels have been reporting that Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, one of the GameCube’s most underrated and fun games, is making its way to the Wii in the near future.

If you’re not familiar with the game, it’s a side-scrolling platformer with three-dimensional graphics. Oh, and it’s controlled by bongos. JUST bongos. You hit the right bongo and Donkey Kong moves right. You hit the left one and he moves left. Hit both at the same time and he’ll jump with the momentum of whatever direction you’ve had him running in. Clapping makes Kong clap, which is a useful move for stunning enemies and grabbing bananas.

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Posted in Awesome, Editorial, GameCube, Wii | 1 Comment »

REVIEW: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

By Jorge Figueiredo - February 18th, 2008

Developed and published by Nintendo for DS.

My introduction to The Legend of Zelda series was through The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker for GameCube. I can’t tell you why I had never been interested in the series before. Given the number of hours I poured into Wind Waker, you’d think I was a devoted fan of the series since the beginning (you can ask Shaun how obsessed I was with finishing this game).

So you can imagine my glee when Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass debuted for the Nintendo DS. Go ahead. Imagine!

Are you done imagining? Good.

Phantom Hourglass picks up where Wind Waker left off. Link has just finished saving Hyrule (once again), when suddenly he comes into contact with the legendary Ghost Ship. His captain, Tetra, leaps aboard in search of booty, but is essentially kidnapped. In an attempt to save her, Link leaps aboard the Ghost Ship, only to be hurled overboard and lose consciousness.

When he is revived, he finds himself on an island he doesn’t recognize. From here, you’re in control of Link and you must help him find the Ghost Ship and rescue Tetra.

Gameplay essentially switches between transit mode and dungeon-crawling mode. You will either find yourself sailing one of the four seas (on the S.S. Linebeck steam-powered paddle boat), or running around on islands exploring dungeons, solving puzzles, and talking to people.

Like Wind Waker, the production quality of Phantom Hourglass is very high. It’s what we’ve all come to expect from this series. The cel-shaded graphics are tight, and due to the simplistic nature of the design, the animation quality is incredible. It’s a bright, cartoony game. But that doesn’t take anything away from it, in my opinion. In fact, I would say it is very effective at drawing players into the fairy-tale nature of the story. The dual screens are used very effectively, too, allowing a new visual twist to play that wasn’t present in Wind Waker. It’s nice to have access to maps on the top screen.

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Posted in DS, GameCube, Nintendo, Reviews, Virtual Console, Wii | No Comments »

SIMILARITIES: Professor Layton & Leon Kennedy

By Shaun Hatton - February 16th, 2008

“We’re not so different, you and I,” Leon said to Professor Layton.

This week, Nintendo released Professor Layton and the Curious Village for Nintendo DS. I’ve been playing the game for the last few days and could not help but notice that despite its seemingly innocent exterior, the game shares many parallels with another awesome game: Resident Evil 4.

It’s something you may have not considered. But hear me out. Both games involve the main character being sent to a mysterious and strange village to investigate an out-of-the-ordinary case. In Resident Evil 4, Leon Kennedy is sent to a small, unnamed European village to look into the disappearance of the President’s daughter, who was taken by a cult led by a man who controlled the whole village. In Curious Village, Professor Layton is called to a strange, remote village (we learn early on that there are no roads connecting it to other towns) to solve a mystery dealing with the estate of a man who seemingly owned the whole town.

In both games, things are not as they first appear. Soon into his adventure, Leon discovers that the villagers aren’t quite human, and that they’re all out to get him. Similarly, Layton finds out that everyone he comes across is really strange in that they try to get in his way by making him solve somewhat trivial puzzles. Also in both games, it sometimes takes a lot more than skill to get by these villagers. Sometimes, you see, it takes a tonne of luck.

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Posted in DS, Editorial, GameCube, Humour, PlayStation 2, Wii | 3 Comments »