Accéder au contenu principal

Sélection

Fire Emblem’s Remarkable Comeback

Fire Emblem’s Remarkable Comeback https://ift.tt/7qwgX1M Though it may not be a sales juggernaut on the scale of Mario or The Legend of Zelda, Fire Emblem is one of Nintendo's preeminent franchises. Like so many of its vaunted stablemates, the series is almost as old as Nintendo's gaming ambitions, debuting on the Famicom and appearing on nearly every home and handheld console since. Given this prominence, it's almost difficult to believe that Fire Emblem's future was ever in jeopardy, but such was indeed once the case; there was a point in time when the series was very much on the verge of cancellation, and it took a dramatic shakeup to reverse its fortunes. To fully contextualize this rocky period in Fire Emblem's history, we need to look back at its trajectory in the wake of its belated international debut. Unlike Nintendo's other marquee properties, Fire Emblem took a circuitous route to Western markets. Though the series began in 1990, its first severa...

Pikmin 4 Wants To Make A Fresh Start

Pikmin 4 Wants To Make A Fresh Start https://ift.tt/YytBiWR

Nintendo has made its reputation on the kind of approachable fun that would let a child pick up a controller and learn the ropes within minutes--in fact, many millions of children by now. In the case of Pikmin 4, the fourth entry in a relatively niche franchise (by Nintendo standards) that mixes strategy and puzzle elements, the company seems especially keen to prove it's an entry point for new fans. This was a point made explicitly during a presentation at a recent hands-on demo, and more importantly, it's woven into the fabric of the game itself.

For starters, the story is no longer following the travails of Captain Olimar. As detailed in a recent trailer and in the game, this time you actually take charge of your own explorer, a custom-created character. While the hands-on didn't include the character-creator section, the pre-fab characters were noticeably imbued with the off-kilter, Charlie Brown-esque cartoonish style of Olimar. Olimar has crashed on a strange planet, leading to a daring rescue mission that also crashed. Oops. You're the backup, sent not only to rescue the series' recognizable mascot, but also the crew sent to save him.

As a practical matter that makes it a less lonely affair than its predecessors, Pikmin 4 is bursting with other humanoid characters who can serve to explain its various systems and lend a hand. Instead of an isolated mission surrounded by silent plant-creatures, you're part of a crew. And given that Pikmin can be fairly dense with systems to manage, that's a welcome change. They are still largely tutorial givers and systems hubs, but they have some character.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Commentaires