The Super Mushroom*, one of gaming’s greatest icons. Unfortunately, this classic middleman to the good power-ups has been cast down into the pits of disgrace.

The Super Mushroom came onto the scene back in the original Super Mario Bros back in ‘85. Back when that game was kicking my ass, the Super Mushroom was a dear friend, helping me stave off death for just a few moments more. 

For all you kids who can regain health just by standing behind a crate, you have no idea how valuable being able to take one extra hit can be. 

Unfortunately, the humble mushroom is no longer the powerhouse it once was. Once SMB3 came onto the scene, there became frequent ways to bypass the mushroom. Just blow by that thing and get to the real shit like the frog suit!

In today’s power-up mad world, I give the Super Mushroom, D. It should fail, but dammit, it tried hard enough to pass.

*Yes, I know it was originally called the Magic Mushroom in the NES guide. Think I don’t read?

I’m reviewing DSiWare you can buy cheap and easy, just how I like ‘em.

Part 1: Intro

Part 2: X-Scape

A wonderfully whimsical and clever puzzler based on making some boxes. Unlike the standard Box Factory as portrayed in the Simpsons, this one couldn’t be more fun to work at.

Boxlife, by Nintendo developers Skip Ltd., packages two different types of games based on making packages. Both are fun, but take wildly different skill sets to pull off. First you’ll need to step into R&D which will introduce you to the mechanics of the game through an increasing series of 14 box building puzzles. Each level introduces new ways of box building, as well as a catchy new song to jam to while toiling away. 

Once you are sufficient in the art of the box you can take on the factory, a series of eight timed stages that task you with cutting as many boxes as possible to earn money. As your money grows, nice but superfluous  items that add the life to Boxlife. It’s not much, but the idea is certainly nice, and adds a nice visual representation of your progress. 

Boxlife is technically part of the wide range of games known as Art Style, a series of various games all built on retro gameplay, graphics, and music, many of them made by Skip.

Oh hell, the music. This game, alongside the other Skip Ltd. produced DSiWare title Pictobits (which I will get to soon enough), got some of the most outstanding music of any download only title Nintendo has ever released. This shouldn’t be a surprise if you have played the far too underrated Chibi-Robo for Gamecube, one of Skips only major releases to make it stateside. This company has a penchant for chiptunes, oddball instruments and serene but catchy melodies. All this is on display on every level of Boxlife.

I have to mention the music because it becomes an integral head bobbing piece of the game as you silently cut, connect, and cube up boxes. As the timer counts down, pressure builds to get those boxes moving, but the music does a good job  keeping you calm and focused on the task at hand.

Much like other Art Styles, Boxlife is a quirky yet serene remix of classic Nintendo gameplay ideals. 

I’m reviewing DSiWare you should buy. Cheap and easy, just how I like my games.

Part 1: Intro

I would argue that Dylan Cuthbert and his studio Q-Games are the kings of downloadable games. Over the course of a few DSiWare articles you might understand why I speak such truths. 

Q-Games have been able to impress me consistently in the downloadable content era by helping me imagine a world where we went directly from SNES to downloadable titles on the DSiWare. All the big budget blockbuster bullshit that home consoles have become is washed away. Cuthbert flips the script on these big spending fools, releasing downloadable games just as fun and intuitive as anything back in my pixelated heyday.

Well, for Cuthbert, those days were already polygonal, having created 3D graphics in Argonaut’s first game, X, which came out on the Mother F-ing Gameboy back in 1992 (British developers were laying down epic coding as personal computers began to hit homes in England in the early 80s, Classic Argonaut and Rareware are proof of that).That early mastery of 3D processing might account for the vector graphics, sharp angles, and minimal use of colors that make current Q-Games releases stand out so well.

X-Scape owes a lot to X and the Star Fox series. Q-Games used this knowledge to craft a clear spiritual successor to them both. Much like Cuthbert’s Game Boy and SNES days, Q-Games rings some stellar graphics out of the DS. This isn’t evident in screenshots, but the varying color schemes, shaky wartime camera shots and polygonal mother ships that explode as if they’re made of stained glass make for some standout visual effects. I wasn’t expecting anything so vibrant from some colored in wireframes.

Strong or significant elements of arcade storytelling have been woven into their simplistically styled downloadable software, which is a habit first realized in the talkativeness of the original Star Fox. That isn’t to mention  the obvious inspiration for the tunnel shooting introductions and “all-range Landmaster” gameplay of the game. It’s easy to imagine that a few ideas that didn’t work their way into past Star Fox iterations found a home within the polygonal world 

WIth X-Scape being the spiritual successor to 1992’s X, it would be easy to imagine a simple arcade style update with a few levels and a remixed song or something. You could expect that from some other companies, but Q-Games seems to go pretty hard to make sure they don’t create games that feel unfinished or cheap just because they are not retail sold spectaculars.

This game, like a lot of downloadable games, is an underrated gem, and deserves to be in every action loving 3DS/DSi owners collection. It gets a lot of things right, creating a fun, stylized world to fly and shoot around in, but there are some ways to make this a longtime classic, and that is way I have this to say to Q-Games

Dear Q-Games and Mr. Cuthbert,

Please consider creating an X-Scape 2 for the 3DS eShop and imagine the possibilities at hand! You would have a more eShop savvy Nintendo audience to provide the game to. Those crisp vector graphics would be even crisper, and in 3D. Of course, the Star Fox 64 3D battle mode that was criminally left without an online mode could finally be resolved by adding online multiplayer in this game. All that and more could be true if you just create a spiritual successor to this spiritual successor.

Crossing the X’s and Dotting the Y’s is the place for all my Pokemon related thoughts as we build up to Pokemon X and Pokemon Y this October.

Sylveon yo, the first update to the Eevee branch since Gen IV. 

Could you imagine Nintendo revealing every Pokemon a day at a time until launch? Man that shit would be cray. 

Let us focus on this dude, chick, thing right now though. It’s only obvious that we consider this first reveal to be deliberate. Some sort of clue as to the future direction of the Pokemon series.

Let’s break down the clues. This is an Eevee evolution, which means  that it will not be the same type as the other evolved forms. Rumor has spread that this will be a brand new Pokemon type, but I don’t think Nintendo would drop that sort of news in this way. 

I am placing my chips on this Sylveon to be a normal type based on its color palette (although judging Pokemon based on their color seems to have stopped being useful long ago.) Because of that, I got a few other notes up my sleeve to help me prop up this bet. 

Consider that new ‘eeveelutions’ come in pairs. In the first pairing we had dark Umbreon wailing on the psychic Espeon. Two generations later we get a Glaceon ice beaming Leafeon into the Pokemon Center emergency room.

So here we are, another two generations later and have one of what is very likely a pair of evolved eevees (eeveses, eevi? Writing about Pokemon is bullshit sometimes, oh man). So the other evolution has to be weak, or strong against this normal Sylveon. That means it is between fighting or ghost type.

I think we can all agree that Sylveon’s counterpart should be a ghost type. The dark styling of ghost types would also give it the sharpest contrast with the brightly colored, bow riddled Sylveon. 

We could also consider how it would evolve. Unfortunately eevee evolve in various ways, from friendship to stones to mossy rocks. I will put a 50/50 bet that however it may evolve, it will have something to do with whether the eevee is male or female. The reason I am iffy on this bet is because I don’t know how deep the X and Y in Pokemon X and Y is actually related to x and y chromosomes (as many fans have suggested). 

I’m willing to put some money down on the following. Sylveon is normal type. Other eevee evolution will be a ghost type. It will be called, I don’t know, fuckin’ Spookeon or something.

Take that to the bank son!

One of the greatest parts about the return of Donkey Kong Country with Donkey Kong Country Returns was far and away the simultaneous co-op. I played through the entire game with my, normally Gears of War 3 playing, cousin. We became a maelstrom of monkey fury as we crashed through level after level, always on the hunt for those elusive puzzle pieces.

Getting to go through DKC Returns with a friend, experiencing each wild event contained in all the various levels doesn’t just leave a memory in your mind. It sears an experience into your psyche. 

Basically, Co-op is important. Retro has the technical know how and game delaying swagger to make 100% sure that there is some form of multiplayer in this game. Do they have the savvy to get online co-op in 3D with the great framerate you need to appreciate the incredible graphics stuffed into DKC.

Now some multiplayer battle modes or what have you would be nice too, and maybe I will cover that later when I have some concrete ideas of how that would work.

What is important though is that there also be online high score and best time leaderboards! Though the original DKC Returns has more than enough replay value with all the extra challenges to take on within every stage, it’s clear that online leaderboards would make this game far more competitive. Dare I ask for uploadable videos of those best runs? Okay sorry, I am asking a bit much now, but you are Retro Studios and that means something.

Basically listening to that YTCracker album I mentioned nonstop. You think I don’t like the music I post. I love this shit. How am I supposed to strut about while being riled up about video games unless I got the proper nerd swagger as the soundtrack? 

I am considering adding that disqus comments thing to this, but how do comments even work yo? Nevermind. Did it. It wasn’t even hard or nothing man! Now I am just worried about what a lack of comments will do for my fragile artists psyche. I have a lot of worries.

I don’t honestly expect many, but I wonder if, say, someone did want to comment on something I’ve done, what way would that hypothetical person prefer to do so?

I want to make things reasonable, but I’m not dying to try pulling some SEO BS to accomplish it. Getting caught up in those things is what gets me burnt out. I need to let my writing speak for itself, even if it doesn’t always speak clearly. 

Nothing to answer for, or respond to tonight.

“Dude, I broke my weed pipe, this is terrible!”

“Nah, dawg, it’s good luck, you know what they say, ‘mo problems, mo money’ yo”

“I hope you’re right man, I need that money for a new weed pipe.”

Twitter: @genoboost

PSN: genoboost

3DS: 3308-4562-8477 (and message me with your FC)

This game is like a radiant gem glistening in a hill made of dusty coal. A sparkling ray of light that brings memories of beautiful shores rather than this dirt covered wasteland set before me.

I’m being melodramatic, but we are talking about Final Fantasy here, I think it’s justified. Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy is the best FF title I have played in a very long time.

If you can’t imagine why the guy who writes about video game music all day loves FF, the main reason for my love of Square and Final Fantasy is the music. If a game was rated on the criteria of sound, story, gameplay and controls, then Square at least hit one of four in every one of their games. 

Square must have known that a subsection of fans was tired of the other 3/4’s of Final Fantasy bullshit.They stripped things down to a game consisting of leveling up, addictive gameplay, and amazing music. Squee delivered the goods. My only complaint is that the story could have been a little more camped up to fit in with the chibi-FF atmosphere of the game.

Let me suggest this, that storyline issue can truly be resolved by the creation of an original game with original music using these simple but effective Theatrhythm mechanics.

An original musical RPG. I am all in Square-Enix. 

Why doesn’t Nintendo let me do this? I think the biggest reason to download full retail games directly from the 3DS eShop is simply to be able to play the games whenever I want without the need to switch cartridges. 

Some games that could definitely sit forever on my 3DS are Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land, Code of Princess, not to mention Animal Crossing New Leaf and Rune Factory once those games arrive. It would be great to be able to just open my 3DS and quickly play any of those games on the slightest whim. 

If Nintendo is able to let you download the game online, how come they have not said anything about uploading your physical game cartridges into the 3DS? This ability is at the top of my list for features the 3DS definitely needs to stay on top of its game.

Oh man, and don’t get me started on where my downloadable classic DS games are…

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: Liberation Maiden

Part 3: Mutant Mudds

Part 4: Mighty Switch Force

Part 5: The Denpa Men They Came By Wave

We end this list with a bang, literally. Sort of literally. We are talking about the block dropping, simian slinging exploding puzzler known as Bomb Monkey.

I remember a time when a great puzzle game could be as anticipated as any other genre. In our age of HD graphics and realistic gameplay, the humble puzzle game has been left in the stone age. Now puzzlers are left to mingle along the border of the oft disdained ‘casual games’. This forgotten genre can be much more than that. This I believe because of one classic DS game.

Puzzle games have class. They are just as retro as your platformers and beat-em-ups. Leave it to the renegades at Renegade Kid to paddle against the tides of change by releasing a stripped down puzzler that gets the job done.

I haven’t heard much about Bomb Monkey after its release, so I am forced to imagine it wasn’t the hottest selling title on the 3DS eShop. Understandable in this day and age, but it is unfortunate because I dream of a future where people are back in love with these falling block puzzlers that were all the rage in the pixelated 2D days of yore. 

So lets focus on the game, rather than my sad longing for a return of competent Tetris clones. Bomb Monkey is easy to grasp, only using 3/4 of the D-pad as the entire control scheme. As expected you frenetically move left and right, trying to create chain reactions to clear the field of blocks in the most explosive way possible. 

The game has a very simple charm to it. Bright pixelated graphics and a bouncing soundtrack give the game a cheerful style that fits the mold of classic 16 bit puzzlers such as Kirby’s Avalanche and Tetris Attack. The pixel art looks crisp on the 3DS XL by the way (and even makes good use of the all black interior of the 3DS) making an already sharp game even sharper. 

I can’t help but lament a lack of a more robust 3DS multiplayer or online leaderboards. I suppose I am just spoiled by all these advancements in gaming as well. The core of the gameplay is what is presented here, and that core is solid enough to not need any superfluous layers wrapped over it. All I want is to place objects of alternating colors inside a large well until something clears that well, allowing me to refill it with more objects. Luckily, that is all Bomb Monkey wants to do as well.

I must add that there is an old school leaderboard run by Renegade Kid for Bomb Monkey. It is ran in the classically legit way of sending in a photo of your high score. And now that I see the rankings, it looks like I need to get some more practice in.

So concludes my first foray into the 3DS eShop. Definitely check out these games if they caught your fancy and let me know which awesome games I need to download from the eShop.

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: Liberation Maiden

Part 3: Mutant Mudds

Part 4: Mighty Switch Force

Once I got a new system in my hands, it takes about a year to start getting that pang, that hunger I feel deep inside to gain levels and learn magic spells, and get over involved in a melodramatic story. I get the need to play an RPG. Shortly after feeling those pangs, the eShop delivered to me, the Denpa Men.

A simple, charming RPG that made me look like a goofball on the bus as I tried to hunt down new Denpa Men who were riding on the numerous wifi waves of the suburbs. 

The storyline is pretty sparse, but the lines of dialogue that are offered up are whimsical and give Denpa Men a unique style.

The gameplay is really interesting, and has already influenced some of my ideas about how turn based battles should go. Essentially, instead of one or two protagonists with dozens of spells, how about nearly a dozen heros, who all only know one spell each.

Collecting the strongest group of Denpa men, powering them up, and picking out the best pajamas to help them survive the next cave keeps things interesting. Mixing and matching various types of Denpa create very different styles to the group as a whole. For those mega level grinders, Denpa Men does good to allow you to fast forward through animations and battles to get the job done quickly. This is something that belongs in quite a few RPGs.

So for those still thirsting for a few polite turn based fights against evil monsters, I know the pickings are still slim on the 3DS. Check out Denpa Men, it has a nice twist on every day RPG mechanics, which is interesting to a nerd like me. Those same RPG mechanics also make the game fun for those of you who don’t care why they are having fun with the game. 

We finish things off tomorrow with the final of my five favorite 3DS eShop titles. It is Bomb Monkey, and it is by Renegade Kid, and it is great. It may even include a special rant from me.