So I had a bit of a change in plans. I was going to post this in December, and my Apollo Justice review in January... but I'm impatient. My AJ review will posted sometime next month, and I can't wait to start writing it. I'm planning something extremely special, something I hope has never been done for a review before. Anyway, with this review I tried to just liven up my writing a bit, make it a little more humorous and less stiff. Hopefully it worked and I don't sound like a robot in my writing anymore.

Three games deep into the series and the Ace Attorney franchise is still kicking. Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations is the third GBA to DS port and the last game in the Phoenix Wright trio of the Ace Attorney series (Gyakuten Saiban in Japan). With that said, how does Trials and Tribulations compare to its predecessors?

The first game set the groundwork for the series. It birthed Wright and Co. into the gaming world, both story and gameplay wise. The sequel, Justice For All, improved upon the original by introducing the Psyche-Lock system, among other minor tweaks. Unfortunately, the plot of the second game proved inferior to the first. Three games in, fans would expect the series to reinvigorate itself with something fresh, something new. Does T&T meet such expectations? No, absolutely not.

Now don't go raising any objections just yet. My explanation is as follows: The gameplay of the series remains unchanged. Instead, Trials and Tribulations melds all the best aspects of the series thus far into one cohesive Ace Attorney opus.

Phoenix Wright 3 does not enhance the previous game's mechanics in any way. In each chapter, after he is hired by the accused, the investigation phase begins. The player must interview various characters for information, collect evidence, et cetera. Carrying over from Justice For All is the Psyche-lock system, which pits the player with revealing evidence to characters in order to discover their darkest secrets. Once those tasks are finished, thus begins the court room phase, where the action of the game lies. During cross-examination of witnesses, the options to press and present are... presented to the player. Pressing a witness' statement squeezes morsels of information out of them, while evidence is used to prove contradictions in the testimony.

Everything works identically to its predecessor. Instead, Capcom decided to focus on storytelling this time around, and it shows. The plot goes above and beyond the excellent plot of the first game, while the second game's story is left in a corner assuming the fetal position.

Justice For All's overarching plot lacked any sort of impact on the central characters, and was left ultimately unsatisfying. This game fixes that issue in every way. All five cases prove compelling. Even the unimportant cases in the middle of each game are (fairly) interesting this time. The expertly written mysteries are just begging to be solved. Not only the crimes committed, but mysteries of the characters' pasts and their motives all play a major role in the overall plot. Because of this, everything that happens actually feels important rather than pointless as in Justice For All. And the final case reaches a new level of excitement which trumps that of the final cases in the previous two games.

Furthermore, in order to flesh out the characters and their respective backstories, new scenarios arise in which other characters are playable, and the titular lawyer takes a backseat (but still has an important role). This feature is only superficial and doesn't alter the gameplay in anyway, but it works well as a storytelling mechanic.

Additionally, Godot, the mysterious prosecutor with a penchant for coffee, might just be the best character ever devised for a video game, or any story. Ever.

Besides that, Trials and Tribulations doesn't differ from the rest of the series in any real way. The writing is witty and comical, yet serious when needed. The graphics are untouched from previous games. The music is excellent, which should be unsurprising for anyone familiar with the franchise.

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations isn't the last game in the series, but it caps off Wright and Co.'s story thus far in a climactic way. It represents everything great about Ace Attorney games, and is a huge love letter to fans. Whether is be the hilarious dialogue, the epic crime drama, or the too-good-for-a-video-game music, Trials and Tribulations, as a whole, is the definitive courtroom gaming experience. Any objections? I didn't think so.

Ramble, ramble, ramble; it is the only thing, it seems, I am capable of. So, the reason for this article? It's in the first paragraph. I just had this somewhat deep (for me, at least) chain of thought, and I decided to act on it. It's long, and that may bore some of you. My apologies. Now, I may mention movies and books, but this article is definitely game-related. I implore you, please read it, or some of it, ONLY if you are interested in the subject. For those of you who are interested, and are unfamiliar with the series mentioned, here is you required, preliminary reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/phoenix_wright
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/hotel_dusk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/harry_potter

The Art of Mystery: A Case Study on Storytelling

I recently spent some time with the game Hotel Dusk: Room 215 for the DS, after having finished it a while back. It got me thinking about mystery; what makes up a mystery? why are mysteries so enticing? I proceeded to relate it to another game series I have been devoting myself to as of late: Ace Attorney. From there I started expanding such thoughts and relating it to everything else. Now I would like to examine the art of mystery.

As I begin, please allow me to state my humble opinion: almost all storytelling is mystery storytelling, in some way or another. Why do I say that? Well, let us look at a definition of the word "mystery." Dictionary.com defines a mystery as "anything that is kept secret or remains unexplained or unknown." Whether it be movie, novel, or videogame (non-fiction works need not apply), there is always some degree of secrecy involved somewhere.

Even in the most shallow of action movies, the audience still has questions until the very end. What is the villain's motive? What will happen at the end? What is the fate of our hero? All answers to questions as these are kept hidden by the writers until the end. The same can be said for unoriginal romance movies: will the two lovers end up together? And so on.

Almost all forms of fictional narrative can fall under the above definition. On that point, I would like to clarify the meaning of the mystery genre: the category of fiction which emphasizes secrecy intentionally, with the purpose of having the characters and audience unravel the events of something that happened, with the ultimate purpose of finding the truth.

With that said, I would like to now bring up many examples of mystery, whether it be intentional by the writer or not, and highlight aspects that work and those that do not. I will start by examining a fantasy series, which inadvertently became a mystery novel in many of its 7 books, and that is the Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling.

Yes, I do realize my credibility was just put on the line by bringing up such a series. First, let me explain. Rowling may not be the greatest writer of all time; her sty|e is conventional, simple, and fairly unoriginal (so is mine, but that's besides the point). What she excels at, however, is presenting a sequence of events in such a way that it works to her advantage. Thus, she may not be a great writer, but Ms. Rowling is an excellent raconteur.

Throughout the series, Harry and his wizard pals are constantly bombarded by unfortunate events, usually at the fault of the antagonist Voldemort or his minions. These events occur all the time in each novel, with little to no explanation of why they happened. Harry and co. become curious, and set out to do some mild investigation, without it ever really being noted as such. And that should be all I need to say about that. I just restated the definition of a mystery.

In the HP books, events happen, people become curious as to the details of those events, they search for clues, they find the truth. Even in a non-mystery story, the elements of mystery are ever present. That much is now obvious. Harry and his pals seek to find the truth behind the past, present, and future, and they do so little by little by piecing together the various clues and evidence they collect.

Now I shall relate this all to the gaming world, in particular, two exceptional series for the Nintendo DS: Ace Attorney and Hotel Dusk, as I mentioned beforehand. First, my (cross-)examination of the Ace Attorney franchise (get it?). As the title suggests, the games center around the world of law and its upholders, particularly defense attorney Phoenix Wright (although in some cases not). Usually at the beginning of each chapter, Wright knows nothing. Absolutely nothing, for the most part. After speaking with his client, he learns learns little by little just what exactly transpired. Collecting evidence, speaking with witnesses, and a little bit of assumption are the ingredients for the perfect solution to a mystery.

50% of the game, in fact, does not even take place within a courthouse. Before beginning the trials, players are required to investigate crime scenes and surrounding areas, which includes completing tasks such as those mentioned above. With that much more information in hand, Phoenix is ready to begin the trial.

During the court scenes, whilst cross-examining witnesses, Phoenix, along with the player, uncover the lies in their testimonies. This happens when said testimonies conflict with evidence. Now with all the pieces in hand, Phoenix makes his checkmate and the mystery is solved.

But it is not always that simple.

Just because there is evidence and whatnot does not mean the whole ordeal is a mystery. The reason it is, however, is because of the way Phoenix's (and hopefully the player's) mind works. Despite the fact that there are only a few facts presented to the court, the piecing together of all the various parts in order to uncover the dirty truth is what makes the Ace Attorney series a mystery series in some respects.

Phoenix Wright: lawyer by trade, detective at heart.

And now that I have devoted 900 words to rambling on why the above non-mystery series are, in fact, mystery series, it is time to commence with the second part of this essay: what the pieces of a mystery are, and how they are important. I shall shed some light on and examine a few of the tropes, conventions, etc. of mystery storytelling I have come across in my adventures (or lack thereof). Now, onwards to Hotel Dusk, just like I promised!

Hotel Dusk: Room 215, an adventure game for the DS, sees the protagonist Kyle Hyde searching for his former partner on the force long after he disappears, and trying to solve the mystery of that evanescence. Formerly a cop, he now works as a door-to-door salesman, and some other stuff about him, etc. What it all boils down to is this: Kyle is looking for this guy, and he stops at a hotel for the night. Unbeknownst to Kyle, Hotel Dusk houses guests who are all connected somehow (think six degrees of separation), and they have the answers he is looking for.

So there's the exposition for ya. The point is made fairly obvious, by the game itself, no less, that you're out to solve a mystery. Phoenix Wright was pretty blatant with its mystery elements, I merely set out to clarify/define/whatever why it should be considered such. Hotel Dusk, a mystery game through and through, utilizes the conventions of the genre almost masterfully. Now, to highlight these conventions:

Every little detail is important. Everything you see, for the most part, is crucial in some way to the story. Every set piece, every character, every line of dialogue all comes together and makes sense at the end. Towards the beginning, almost nothing is known. With the gradual build-up of info and details, the story manifests itself and the truth is revealed.

All the characters are important. Each character has his or her own back-story, a past life that explains their motives for being at the hotel, their intentions for saying the things they say, everything. The writers, from the beginning, set out to make sure there were absolutely no unimportant, uninteresting people within the world. Every character has some sort of bearing on the plot.

The player/audience is the one solving the mystery. This part runs full steam ahead into a bit of a gray area. Technically, the protagonist is solving it. Throughout the game he expresses his thoughts to the player, albeit without breaking the fourth wall, so the audience knows everything Kyle knows. However, because of the nature of the clues and the story, and to a degree, their predictability, the player will most likely find themselves knowing just a bit more than Kyle because of simple guesswork. It is my understanding that this was wholly intentional by the writers. Kyle, may have had the whole thing figured out in a matter of minutes and was simply not presenting his entire inner monologue. That is left unclear, but was done so in order to allow the player to figure it out first, piece by piece.

There's a twist in the plot. I'm now treading a fine line between spoiler territory and the safe haven of spoiler-free innocence. Yes, there is a plot twist to some degree. It depends on how the audience interprets it. Now, not all stories need twists. Mysteries, on the other hand, should utilize them as often as possible, while still trying to avoid becoming cliché. The element of surprise is what makes a mystery so... satisfying. Finally learning the truth of the story, and discovering if your assumptions were correct, is such an intense, exciting feeling. If the game is able to create an emotional connection with the player, then that makes the end much more rewarding.

So surprise! The plot of Hotel Dusk is executed exceptionally well for a fairly low-key DS game.

In summary, the Ace Attorney series contains all or most of these, as does every work of mystery literature ever created. If you come across a piece that does not, please let me know, and I shall gladly retract my statement. For now, however, I hope I have enlightened the masses (or whoever happens to stumble upon my humble little essay) on why the mystery genre represents the most enticing and satisfying portion of literature and storytelling, regardless of the medium.

I just drank coffee while listening to Godot's theme. YES!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICUTRPMug50

P.S. Trials and Tribulations review is written and will be posted December 1.

Here's one I've been wanting to do for a while. I didn't want to get too wordy with this one, but I guess it was inevitable. There is just sooo much content in this game. I tried to mention only the important aspects and it still ended up being over 1000 words. I need to work on condensing my thoughts. Also, please enjoy.

Persona 4 does not reinvent the wheel. Persona 4 does not do anything particularly innovative. What Persona 4 does, however, is perfect every aspect of its predecessor, and, in turn, become the paradigm for what we know as the JRPG.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 is the fourth game to be released in the Persona line of SMT sub-series. Following up on 2007's SMT: Persona 3, P4 abandons a few mechanics from the prequel and refines just about everything else.

The story revolves around an odd string of murders that occur in the rural town of Inaba. The protagonist moves to Inaba soon before the incident takes place, so, curious teenagers that they are, the main character and the motley crew of friends he meets at school investigate the murders and their connection with the mysterious Midnight Channel.

The Midnight Channel is an urban legend that states that on a rainy night, a switched-off TV set will power on of its own accord and reveal to the viewer their soul mate. While watching the program for the first time, the protagonist is literally dragged inside the television and discovers a completely new world.

This world is where the meat of the game lies: whenever a person in Inaba goes missing, the main party enters the TV world, weapons in hand, to rescue said person. The world inside the "tube" is fog-ridden. This fog helps to keep Shadows, the resident enemies of the Persona universe, at bay. When it rains three days in a row in the real world and a fog sets in, the fog from the TV world lifts, allowing the monsters to prey upon the missing person. Players must frequently check the in-game weather channel to see the next time rain will fall for three days, and complete the rescue before it's too late.

It's an interesting alternative to Persona 3's moon cycle system of progression, and gives the game a sense of urgency. However, the most time it takes to complete each rescue is far less than the time allotted. Thus, the weather system is weak and destined to be largely disregarded.

The inside of TV land is the equivalent of dungeons in traditional RPGs. In P3, there was one extensive, towering dungeon. This time there are multiple, 10-floor zones, each with a varying motif. However, because "spirit points" and items are required for healing yet are of short supply, traversal of some floors multiple times is to be expected. Hostile shadows lurk within the corridors of the randomly-generated dungeons. Combat, like in any RPG, is vital to progression. Also improved from P3, all characters in the party are under the player's direct command, rather than being AI-controlled.

Each playable character has a Persona, or manifestation of their spirit, that allows them to fight in battle, save for the main character, who has the ability to use a large variety of different Personas. Personas allow the characters to cast magic, among other things, and are an integral part of combat. Igor, a quirky, butler-looking fellow, will record all the Personas in the players possession and fuse the creatures together to form stronger versions.

That aside, they also have an important effect on the story. In order to obtain their Persona, the central characters must "face themselves," or overcome an adverse challenge regarding their personality or troubles in life. Character development represents a large part of the exposition, so it's good to see it executed well.

Not only does this sort of development occur during scripted story sequences, it also is one of the main purposes of a Persona series staple: social links. After school gets out everyday, the player has the choice of diving through the TV screen and tackling the dungeons, or conversing with major and minor characters alike to strengthen the bonds they share.

As the friendship increases (or even blossoms into romance), the bonds between the character and the protagonist are tempered. Each social link is assigned an arcana symbol. When social links are leveled up, Personas fused by the main character that correspond to that arcana will receive an experience boost.

Be warned: Persona 4 is an adventure not created for the impatient. It's long. And by long, I mean it is LONG. The main quest itself reaches upwards of 70 hours, not to mention time spent doing quests or tinkering with Persona fusion. The game challenges players' patience, not only time-wise, but in a having-to-do-the-same-thing-repeatedly way. P4 is extremely hard, even on normal (although easy is a bit too much so). Now, it's not necessarily tough, per se, but enemies hide cheap tricks up their sleeves. One minute the party is dominating, the next you're shaking hands with the game over screen. Because of frequent game overs, it's probable that players will replay some areas more than once.

Another point of interest is the soundtrack. Persona 3's music had a mix of hip-hop and synth-ridden electronica that gave the game a funky feeling, in a good way. P4 features a soundtrack with many Japanese rock and pop tracks. A number of the tracks are sung by Japanese vocalists singing in English. This may turn off many people, which is unfortunate, because the soundtrack is large, diverse, and obviously had a lot of effort poured into it by the composer. On the bright side, the game includes the first disc of the soundtrack for no additional cost.

Additionally, the vast majority of the game is voice acted. And done surprisingly well, I might add. Many people tend to favor Japanese voices, which are nowhere to be found here, yet the English vocal track in P4 is done quite well.

Unique monster-training and dating sim mechanics aside, Persona's gameplay is, at its core, a traditional Japanese role-playing game. That is a point which cannot be refuted. Quite an odd combination, to be sure, yet surprisingly efficient when melded together. All the mechanics form a cohesive and incredibly well-balanced game. For a budget price right off the bat, included soundtrack CD, and 75-hours worth of adventuring, the only reason not to buy this game would be an aversion to finely crafted RPGs. Yet if that's the case, why would you have read this review in the first place?

Here's the first of my monthly Ace Attorney reviews. This one's a bit short, due to the fact that I tried to avoid repeating everything I said in the first game's review. So instead of sounding (completely) redundant, I decided to focus on only what's new to this game and how it differs from the other games. That's probably the apporach I'll take when reviewing the rest of the games in the series.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." This expression, broken English and all, applies to so many games that have come our way. Whether this be a positive or negative thing, that aspect is left up to the players.

With Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice For All, said expression rings true. The core gameplay of the Ace Attorney series stands as is: investigation scene, court scene, repeat. What this sequel does do, however, is add a few different elements into the mix which tweak the core mechanics ever so slightly.

The previous penalty system, which docked the player for presenting irrelevant evidence, is still in place. But instead of the five-strikes-your-out method from the first Ace Attorney, Phoenix now has a green life bar. One fifth is lost for presenting the incorrect evidence, but greater or lesser values can be lost and regained depending on the situation. This allows the game much more flexibility and unpredictability during intense scenarios.

The first Ace Attorney had a realistic, believable world in which the characters lived, for the most part. Occasionally the story dabbled in the occult, seeing as how there were spirit mediums and the like. This time around, a new mechanic, "Psyche-locks," presents a different challenge. During the investigation phase, Phoenix and company stumble upon various characters who hide dark secrets. Through the use of a spirit medium's mystically-charged magatama, Phoenix will see padlocks appear over said person's body. The locks break when the correct evidence is presented. Information vital to the case will be revealed by the now-vulnerable character. It works similarly to cross-examining witnesses in court, so it's not totally innovative.

Additionally, people's profiles can also be presented, during Psyche-lock sequences and court scenes, instead of just the physical evidence. It's not as game-changing as the previous features mentioned, but it adds just a little more depth to the game.

Besides the above, not all that much has changed from the first game. The sprites still look great, despite being ripped right from a 2002 GBA game. The music comprises mostly new tracks, with only a few carrying over from the first game. The songs don't feel as memorable as in the first game, but the soundtrack is solid regardless.

The cases this time around are written magnificently (however, there do seem to be more typographical errors in this game) and the "whodunit" feel is genuine. However, the stories themselves do not contribute to the overarching story of the central characters in any real way. That fact alone makes them feel shallow and lacking, save for the fourth and final case, which is epic to a new degree.

There is no bonus case with touch control as seen in the previous game. Subsequently, that makes the entire game quite a bit shorter than its predecessor. The dialog is as witty as ever, and most of the main characters are great fun to watch interact with each other because of it.

Justice For All fails to outshine the original game, mostly due to the lackluster overall plot. That aside, it's still an excellent game that manages to tweak the formula enough to freshen it up. Justice For All is worthy of its spot in the Ace Attorney series, but chances are it probably isn't anyone's favorite of the bunch.

Well, I never really left. So the thing is, I log onto GS almost everyday, checking the reviews and whatnot. I haven't touched the forums in nary a long while. Probably about 6 months to be specific. From what I've seen in most people's blog posts, most of the forums have taken a nosedive right towards the territory of "pointless" and "uninteresting." Without even having seen such evidence to prove this, I suspect the worst is true. Which is unfortunate, because I used to enjoy the forums 'round these parts.

I don't even know if this post is worth writing, seeing as how most the people on my friends list have probably up and left by now. However, for those of you who have stuck around, allow me to fill you in on what I've been doing the past few months:

nothing.

Yup, them's the breaks. Well, I am taking a journalism class now. My writing has improved a lot. Looking back, I don't know how in the world I was eligible to receive a Top 100 emblem. The reviews I've written thus far are quite amateurish. So, I'm looking to improve my craft. The last time I wrote a review was February, so it's been about 9 months.

Starting today I am going to make myself much more active in review writing. I've recently become re-obsessed with the Ace Attorney series (one of my favorites) so in anticipation for Ace Attorney Investigations, I'm going to post the review for AA2 this month, AA3 next month, AA4 in January, and AAI:ME in late January or February. Now you might be thinking, "THAT'S SO MUCH ACE ATTORNEY, WHY CAN'T YOU REVIEW SOMETHING ELSE FOR ONCE YOU LAZY LOUSE." Well, don't get your panties in such a bunch just yet. Other games will be reviewed also. I just really like Ace Attorney, that's all. Also, don't worry: I'm not going to be completely nice to every game.

I really think it's pointless to hope for people to actually read them on this site, but at least it's an outlet for me to get my stuff out there. I know there's a few people who will pay attention, plus I'll be posting them to other places as well. So, now to get started. If you want a certain game reviewed, just leave a comment and I'll take your suggestion into consideration, considering it's within my power to actually play the game. I'm not made of money, you know. ;)

Yay, another review! I think I'm going to review a bad or mediocre game next, since I've pretty much only reviewed games I enjoy so far. OBJECTION!!

Who would ever think that a game of the visual novel genre would ever be popular in North America and Europe? For those of you who don't know, visual novel games aren't even really games at all. They are usually characterized by extreme amounts of text inside of dialog boxes, accompanied by a 2D sprite of the character speaking said lines of dialog. Most of them have dialog trees, so the player can choose what to say. Some of the romantic ones are usually referred to as Dating Sims. These younger cousins of adventure games, which aren't even that popular anymore either, are ridiculously popular in Japan.

That being said, they are almost nonexistent in the western world. Unfortunately, some of them are pretty good but never make their way across the pond. So, why exactly would a game of this kind be popular in a place where most gamers don't even know they exist? Sorry, but even I don't know the answer to that question. Maybe it's because it was developed by Capcom, or maybe it's just a genuinely good game. Either way, Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney and its three sequels have quite a strong following over on this side of the Earth.

As the title suggests, you play as an up-and-coming defense lawyer by the name of Phoenix Wright. You defend suspected criminals in a court of law, and you have quite a few methods of doing so. When you enter the court, where the main parts of the game take place, you'll be faced with a few tasks. First off, you'll be introduced to what is actually going on in the case. After, you can start examining witnesses. You can press their statements for more information, or present evidence at any of their statements to prove a contradiction.

When not in court, you take direct control of Phoenix and can investigate the crime scene and surrounding areas. This allows you to question different characters for information, collect evidence, and more. There is a lot of cool stuff that happens at these parts, such as a few story events, but for the most part, these sections of the games are not as fun or intriguing as the court sessions. I would end up playing through these parts as fast as possible in some cases to get to the next court scene.

It's really fun proving people wrong and discovering the truth of the situation. This is helped by a really solid story complete with death, betrayal, friendship and plot twists galore. The translation of the story is spot on, with few grammatical mistakes, spelling errors, or cases of broken English. Thankfully, there's nothing like Zero Wing in sight. The writing of the dialog is also well done and feels natural. It's witty and you'll probably find yourself laughing on many occasions. There is a large cast of characters, important and minor, that you will probably end up loving (or hating). All of this helps to immerse you in the story, and this aspect of the game is extremely satisfying.

Seeing as how this game was originally on the Game Boy Advance in Japan, and that this is a port, there isn't much DS-specific functionality to speak of. You can click through text and menus with the stylus. Additionally, you have the option of shouting "Objection!" in to the microphone when you feel like raising an objection, but this can be done via the stylus too. For this edition of the game, though, there was an extra case added to the end which features some mini-game forensic work involving the touch screen and microphone, but they aren't particularly deep or entertaining.

The visuals in the game are quite nice. The sprites of the characters have a lot of detail to them, although they are not really animated much. The back drops of the environments during the investigation scenes are also done in great detail, and when looking for evidence you have to look closely. Next up is the sound design, which apart from the story, is the most amazing part of this game. There is a good selection of tracks, for each different part of the game. Some characters even have their own themes. During the intense parts of the court sessions, the music helps to increase the tension and makes it that much better. You know a game's audio is good when there are multiple orchestral concerts dedicated to it, right?

There are 4 cases in the game, plus the bonus one with the touch screen controls. Excluding the introductory case, which is fairly short, each case can take 1-2 hours, sometimes more. After you complete the game, you can replay any case you want, so there is a bit of replay value. Since you can probably find the game for abut $20 nowadays, I say it's definitely worth it. At least check it out for the music alone.

Finally! I've finally written another review. For something I enjoy doing so much, it sure took me a while. Sorry! I will definitely be pumping out more reviews more often. I plan on keeping my Top 100 emblem for a while. You can count on it!

It was over 10 years in the making, but finally, the true successor to Super Mario 64 has been thrust upon Nintendo fans! Now don't get me wrong, Super Mario Sunshine on the GameCube was a decent game. Personally, I played it quite a bit, but it wasn't what we wanted. Fast forward to E3 2006, and Super Mario Galaxy is unveiled. Finally, it was like Nintendo had realized what fans really wanted in the next Mario title. After all this hype, it seems like SMG had a lot to live up to. So does it meet all of the extremely high expectations from the gaming community? You bet!

To put it simply, Super Mario Galaxy is absolutely stunning. Every corner of the game can take your breath away. The way the game works, the way everything is designed, everything is just fantastic. The concept of the game is simple. You play as Mario, obviously, and you travel to different planets, big and small, all around the universe. Sounds interesting, right? Well it gets better.

So with that being said, why the heck is Mario in space, how did he get there, what exactly is he trying to achieve. If you think it has anything to do with Bowser and Princess Peach, then you're exactly right. Mario receives a letter from Princess Peach (sound familiar?), inviting him to join her for the centennial Star festival. Just as Mario is about to participate in some festivities, Bowser swoops out of the skies, in the airships from Super Mario Bros. 3, no less, and executes his plan to kidnap the Princess, along with her entire castle! He uses a giant saucer to do so, and escapes to outer space with Princess in hand. Whilst trying to stop Bowser, Mario ends up getting sent flying, and lands on a strange distant planet.

After a quick tutorial level, Mario eventually meets Rosalina, the Lumas, and begins his quest. This is where the game really begins. There really isn't much in the way of story in Super Mario Galaxy. During the course of the game, not much really happens. Eventually you can unlock Rosalina's library, where you can read a story book describing the mysterious Princess' past and purpose. That's about it, but it is a Mario game, so the story isn't really too important, is it? No, the game play is the most important part. So how is it? Once you get to the Observatory, you'll find out.

The Observatory is the main hub of the game, which is run by the new character Rosalina. The observatory itself has a few different sections, and most of these sections contain portals which allow you to travel to the game's different galaxies. When you choose to go to a galaxy, each one being unlocked by collecting a set number of stars, you can choose which mission you want to play for that galaxy. You then blast off to that galaxy and attempt to complete the goal you chose. The whole system works really well, and is somewhat similar to how the paintings worked in Super Mario 64.

Each galaxy, and the planets they contain, usually has its own theme. You'll find yourself on planets covered in lava or frozen in ice, like most games with themed levels. However, there are a few creative ones as well, like a whole level made of desserts or one composed of gigantic toys. The diversity in the level design tends to be quirky and beautiful simultaneously.

Some of the planets are extremely small, which you can completely traverse in a matter of seconds, while other are pretty large, and can take quite a while to complete. Once you finish discovering each nook and cranny of a planet, you fly to the next by hopping into a launch star and shaking the Wii remote. Each galaxy has a few different missions to complete, each with its own star to get, and a few hidden stars here and there. There are plenty of different mission types, such as getting to the end of the level, defeating a boss, racing Shadow Mario around the area, and a lot more. Occasionally, different "comets" will appear in a galaxy, which give you a special goal with a few strict rules, like dying in one hit or having to reach the goal in a certain amount of time. Each one manages to keep the experience fresh and exciting, so you are never doing the same thing over and over again.

So now I bet you're wondering, "Since this game is on the Wii, aren't there some sort of cool, crazy motion controls?" Well, the answer is yes. Although, which is what's great about this game, is that they are kept to a minimum. The only to time you really use motion controls are for performing the spin attack, pointing to shoot star bits, shaking the remote to fly from a launch star, and to perform any special attacks that come with the game's power-ups. Speaking of power-ups, there are quite a few of them. All of them are pretty cool, and fun to use, and there's even the c|assic Fire Mario form, which, of course, allows you to shoot fireballs by shaking the Wii remote.

The rest of the controls in the game are fairly simple. You press A to jump and swim, press the B trigger to fire star bits, press the Z button to crouch, and use the analog stick to move around. Most of the actions you perform require no motion controls, which was the smart choice to make. I mean, no one wants to jump by flicking the Nunchuk upwards. (I'm looking at you, Ninjabread Man.)

On the technical side of things, there is a lot going on with this game. Graphically, the game is absolutely wonderful, especially because it's a Wii game. The whole universe of the game, and I mean that literally, is covered from head to toe in bright colors, great lighting and particle effects, and smooth looking models. The art sty|e is beautiful; it's simple, yet effective. I found myself going "whoa…" on multiple instances, and would stop to just take in how great everything looks. Eye candy galore!

As for the audio, it's honestly some of the best sound design ever. The worlds are supported by beautiful orchestral scores. There are new tracks and remixes of old songs, which sounds completely awesome. In addition, most of the c|assic sound effects are used here and there, so that is really nice. The speaker in the Wii remote is also used to some extent, although that speaker has never been that great, so it still sounds a little grainy.

Really though, the most technically impressive aspect of the game is neither the graphics nor the sound. It's the physics engine. Every planet has its own gravitational pull. On smaller planets you can jump great heights and distances, sometimes even leaping over the whole planet in one go. On the other hand, larger planetary bodies can have a greater pull. The physics on these are much more realistic. If it were not for the wonderful implementation of the physics, this game would not be nearly as good as it is.

You only need to collect 60 of the 120 stars to gain access to the final boss, but you can keep going after you defeat him. After you collect all 120 you can replay the entire game as Luigi, which is cool because Luigi usually has a different jump than Mario, and that stays true in this game as well. There's also a neat little multiplayer mode that allows a second player to help the first player by performing certain tasks with their own cursor. The thing is, that's the only thing they can do, and it's fairly boring for the second player. Additionally, there a few more features you can play around with like taking a picture of you scores for each planet and sending them to your friends or posting them to the Wii message board.

The only real problem with the game is that it's too easy. I mean, it is way too easy. It's almost to the point that where some levels are completely laughable. But that really is SMG's only flaw, and that doesn't ever prevent it from being fun.

There's a lot to do in this game, and it will last you quite a while. I would go as far to say that it's almost not even a game; it really is its own experience. So does Super Mario Galaxy deserve the title as rightful successor to Super Mario 64's revolutionary legacy? Yes, yes it does.

After almost two years... I've finally done it...

(I'm so lazy. :P) I put it off for so long. Time to tackle Ocarina of Time LOL.

I'm reposting this because I accidentally deleted the blog post for it. I also made blog posts for some old reviews, so if you haven't read those go check them out. I'm about to start working on some new reviews. For real, this time. ^_^

The highly acclaimed Paper Mario series has been praised for its artistic and creative innovations. The first two games were unique in the fact that they were role-playing games, but fused with some light platforming elements of traditional Mario titles. Super Paper Mario takes it one step further by being predominantly platforming, with a few features taken from RPGs.

The most notable highlight of the Paper Mario games is that almost every tangible object is paper thin, hence the title. In the first two games, the player could move in a 3D space in almost all directions. This time around, you can only move left and right, in a side scrolling fashion, similar to the 2D Mario games. The major innovation this time around is the ability to flip the world 90 degrees into a full 3D view, allowing you to find hidden enemies, treasures, and switches.

The town of Flipside acts as your main hub throughout the game. You'll come here in between chapters to rest, stock up on items, progress the story, or fulfill side quests. There are eight chapters in all, with four sub chapters in each, adding up to a total of thirty-two playable sections of the game. Each one will have you defeating enemies, finding pathways, solving puzzles, talking to townsfolk, and more. Each chapter is a new experience that fits in with the story nicely. Each chapter takes place in a different setting, and they all have traits that will keep your attention the entire time.

The main gameplay systems consists of you as either Mario, Princess Peach, or a few other characters, going through the level, doing all of the tasks set in front of you until you reach the end. There are a few different ways to defeat enemies, such as using items, jumping on them, attacking them with your partner character, among other methods. They don't just all die in one hit like in the older Mario games, though. This is where the RPG elements come in. Mario and his party all have hit points (HP), as well as your foes. Every time you attack them, damage will be dealt. The amount of HP taken from you or your foe shows above said character's head when they get hit. In the top center of the screen, there is a counter of your "score." You get points for defeating enemies and using stylish moves. When you achieve a certain number of points, your level goes up. This increases you attack, defense, and HP.

Every character you play as has their own unique ability. Mario can flip into 3D, Peach can float long distances with her parasol, Bowser can breathe fire, etc. Replacing the partner characters from the previous Paper Mario games are "Pixls." Exactly as it sounds, Pixls are pixilated creatures that follow you around, and can help with puzzles and in combat with their abilities.

The game is controlled with the Wii Remote alone, but turned on its side, similar to the NES controller. The 2 button makes you jump, the 1 button uses your partner character's ability, and the A button is to use your own ability. Motion controls are kept to a minimum. You'll have to perform certain gestures to use items, and shake the Wii Remote to perform stylish moves. After you jump on an enemy, if you perform a chain of stylish moves you can earn extra points towards leveling up.

The story is not particularly deep, but it is extremely interesting and fun to experience. Mario and Luigi are sitting in their home when Toad arrives and tells the Mario Bros. That Princess Peach and her castle are under attack. They find out that Peach, and Bowser of all people, have been kidnapped by Count Bleck, an evil wizard trying to fulfill a prophecy written in an ancient book called the Dark Prognosticus. Bleck has hypnotized Peach into marrying Bowser. The union of a pure maiden, Peach, and an "evil" being, Bowser, will create a Chaos Heart, which Bleck hopes to obtain the power of in order to have his malicious way. Overall, the story has a nice set of plot twists to keep you entertained, but it is a bit slow moving.

The actual writing of the plot is what really shines here. There's a lot of text, but it is a lot of fun to read. Almost every line of dialogue is humorous in some way, like the older Paper Mario games, but this one really pushes its comical limits to the top. You'll constantly find yourself laughing and joking along with the characters. The writing and translation teams really did a wonderful job with the script and every moment of it is pure fun.

The entire package is brimming with a sick amount of fan service, and this really shows in the stages and script. A lot of the levels are recreations of stages from the original Super Mario Bros., and it's a lot of fun to see what they look like from a 3D perspective. In a section of Chapter 3, many pieces of Nintendo memorabilia are visible on shelves and desks. Furthermore, the script makes numerous allusions to other Mario and Paper Mario games.

Visually, Super Paper Mario looks wonderful. On the technical side of the graphics, there really isn't anything that couldn't have been done on the GameCube. The attention to artistic detail is what really shows, though. Everything is richly colored; character designs are creative and bursting with visual flavor, and many different features of levels will catch your eye.

The music is wonderful. There are tracks taken and remixed from previous Mario and Paper Mario games, and the soundtrack is a lot of fun to listen to. For the most part, it's pretty upbeat and very catchy. Unfortunately there isn't any voice work to speak of, but it's probably for the better considering the nature of most of the characters.

There are a ton of side quests to keep you busy once you finish the main quest. You can collect all of the cards scattered throughout the world, create and find all of the food items and their respective recipes, and play the mini games for coins. Also making a return from older Paper Mario games is the infamous Pit of 100 Trials. It's a little different this time around, but the rewards are just as great.

Super Paper Mario should take upwards of about twenty hours to finish, not counting the numerous side quests. It's not the best in series, but it is a very diverse, unique experience on the Wii that just really shouldn't be missed.