Tag: Nintendo DS

PETA Still Hates Nintendo: Pokemon Red, White, & Blue

The morons at PETA have released another Pokemon parody to take advantage of the hype surrounding Pokemon X and Pokemon Y. The latest misguided attempt to raise awareness to the organization’s cause is Pokemon Red, White, & Blue. This time around, the group is challenging people to evolve (get it?!?) by urging them to become vegetarian or vegan. Here’s an excerpt from the campaign:

For generations, humans have loved Pokémon, but if Pokémon came to our world and saw how we treated animals, would they love us back? Be a hero for real-life animals by pledging to try vegan.

With the huge selection of delicious vegan meats and alternatives to dairy foods and eggs available, there’s no excuse not to give a vegan diet a try. We’ll send you delicious recipes and tips for living cruelty-free to help you along the way.

Some of you will recall that PETA has a history of picking on wholesome and harmless Nintendo games. In the past, it went after Super Mario Bros. 3D Land with Super Tanooki Skin 2D and attacked Pokemon with Pokemon Black & Blue.

While there are certainly several great reasons to become vegan or vegetarian — both for personal health and the good of the environment — it’s hard to take PETA seriously given its history with Nintendo. When you see mainstream media go after Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty, you can see how a violent videogame can be taken out of context to blame social disorders and further an agenda. Exploiting a Super Mario Bros. game or a Pokemon game is just dumb. At worse, those games aren’t the least bit offensive. At best, they’re quite positive. Twisting them in a negative way in order to push your message is pathetic.

Personally, I would love to be vegan or vegetarian. After thinking about PETA’s use of Pokemon to push a meat-free agenda, I want to devour a Smith & Wollensky ribeye.

Anyway, what do you think of PETA’s latest use of Nintendo characters to promote its agenda? Do you agree that it’s a bad way to push a good message? Would any of you like to join me for some all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ in PETA’s honor?

Source

Pokemon Origins Trailer

Pokemon Origins is a four-part animated series that tells the old-school story of Pokemon Red/Blue. While many fans of the Pokemon cartoons known and love Ash Ketchum, fans of the original game have a special place in their hearts for Red. Almost 20 years after the original game’s release, Red finally gets center stage in Pokemon Origins.

While some gamers might not be familiar with Red, they’ll see lots of familiar characters in Pokemon Origins. Professor Oak, Brock, Lance, Team Rocket Giovanni, Reina, and more will be in the show. The real stars, of course, are the Pokemon. While I’m quite fond of many Pokemon from the second generation and beyond, the originals are still my favorite. (In fact, one of my bathrooms is protected by a charmander and a charmeleon.) I’m really looking forward to seeing old-school Pokemon and the original characters from the game in Pokemon Origins.

The first episode is being released in Japan on October 2, 2013 to promote the Pokemon X and Pokemon Y games. The international release date for Pokemon Origins is November 15, 2013. It will be streamed through Nintendo’s Pokemon TV service.

Check out the Pokemon Origins trailer below and let me know what you think (please!). Are you excited for its release? Which original Pokemon starter is your favorite? Bulbasaur for the win!!!

151 Original Pokemon Drawn By 151 Artists Via Twitter

In one of the coolest Pokemon projects ever conceived, Justin Chan put together a collage of the 151 original Pokemon drawn by 151 different artists. The really cool part is that it was all organized over Twitter. In an amazing show of Pokemon love, all 151 Pokemon had assigned artists less than 24 hours after the project hit the Twitterverse. In less than 48 hours, 80 percent of the artwork was complete. In the immortal words of Brian Fellow, “That’s crazy!!!”

Check out a clip of the collage above and download the giant 27MB 8,800 x 6,800 file here. After perusing the image, kindly leave a comment and let me know which Pokemon drawings you like best.

Chan’s Pokemon collage project is an amazing testament to the power of Pokemon and the power of Twitter. I can’t wait for the Johto and Sinnoh versions!

Source

Nintendo Selling Refurbished 3DS, DSi XL Hardware

Nintendo’s online store has been updated to include refurbished 3DS and DSi XL hardware. The products come with a one-year warranty and “are guaranteed to be fully functional, but may have minor cosmetic blemishes.” A refurbed 3DS costs $129.99, while DSi XL units are available for $99.99. On Amazon.com, a new 3DS can be had for as low as $165, while a new DSi XL runs for $143. Refurbished hardware bundles packaged with a game are also available.

What do you guys and gals think of Nintendo’s refurb deals? Are they a good value? Or would you rather buy a new system? Any of you planning to pick up a refurbished 3DS or DSi XL?

Source

PETA vs. Pokemon: The Idiocy Continues

Remember last year when PETA went after Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. franchise, pointing out the “animal cruelty” involved with Mario’s Tanooki suit? The idiocy continues with PETA going after Nintendo’s popular Pokemon franchise in a parody game called Pokemon Black and Blue. Here’s an excerpt from the game page:

The amount of time that Pokémon spend stuffed in pokéballs is akin to how elephants are chained up in train carts, waiting to be let out to “perform” in circuses. But the difference between real life and this fictional world full of organized animal fighting is that Pokémon games paint rosy pictures of things that are actually horrible.

What’s up with PETA’s hate for Nintendo? Out of all the game publishers in the world, Nintendo is one of the most family-friendly. Furthermore, PETA’s premise is stupid. The Pokemon games are about cooperation and they encourage players to take care of their animal companions. As far as videogames go, they’re pretty innocent. The series has sold hundreds of millions of copies and it hasn’t resulted in hundreds of millions of animal abusers. I’m all for treating animals with care, but PETA’s campaigns against Nintendo are amazingly misguided. It’s hard to respect an organization that does so many stupid things.

What do you think of PETA’s stance against Pokemon? Does the organization have a legitimate point? Do you think there’s a high-ranking PETA official that sucked at Nintendo games as a kid and is trying to get revenge through these moronic campaigns?

Source

This Week’s Videogame Releases

This week is packed full of awesome games. Harvey Smith’s Dishonored has been getting fantastic reviews. I’ve been high on this game since E3 2012 and I’m jazzed by its critical reception. XCOM: Enemy Unknown has also been high on my list of 2012 games. This sci-fi strategy game has an old-school feel and stands out in today’s market — very sweet blend of retro gameplay with modern trappings. Pokemon Black and White Version 2 is out, ready to entertain millions of Pokemon trainers. Fable: The Journey brings one of Microsoft’s most popular franchises to the arm-flapping world of Kinect. Adding to the motion madness is Harry Potter for Kinect, which offers mainstream entertainment for muggles, witches, and wizards. Lastly, Code of Princess is a slick action-RPG that could be one of the sleeper hits of the year.

Any of you picking up new games this week?

Farewell Nintendo Power

It was sad hearing that Nintendo Power will be shutting down. Millions of Nintendo fans have been enjoying the magazine since the late ’80s. Like Egon Spengler said in 1984, print is dead — especially for people that want to read about videogames and videogame-related articles. That said, there was just something comforting about having longrunning magazines like Nintendo Power around. Yeah, you knew that the book was on the decline and that it would eventually go away, but you got warm fuzzies whenever you saw the logo or saw it at a newsstand.

While I’ve purchased dozens of Nintendo Power issues over the years, I couldn’t tell you the last time I bought one. Saying that I will miss the magazine has an empty ring to it. It’s more like…I’ll miss the nostalgic bliss the magazine conjured.

Will any of you miss Nintendo Power? Share some memories of your favorite issues when you have a moment.

LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes Renders

Here’s a trio of high-res parody renders Warner Bros. Interactive sent out to promote the upcoming LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes. The LEGO versions of Catwoman, Joker, and Robin are obviously a nod to the outstanding Batman Arkham City. With more than 50 characters rumored to be playable, LEGO Batman 2 is a comic-book nerds dream! The rumored roster includes Batman, Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl, Green Lantern, Superman, Flash, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Hawkgirl, Cyborg, Katana, Shazam, Zatanna, and Wonder Woman.

As a Nightwing mark, I get goofy every time he’s featured in a game. How about you? Now’s the time to out yourself as a closet Black Lightning fan! Which DC superhero would you like to play as in LEGO Batman 2?

[nggallery id=100]

This Week’s Videogame Releases

It’s a pretty exciting week for February! SSX makes a triumphant return and lots of people are saying that it’s a thrilling ride. Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition is out this week too…just don’t tell RPadholic Big Blak. Sega’s Binary Domain is flying under the radar if you’re looking for some Gears of War-like gameplay. Hardcore Japanese RPG fans will want to pick up Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk-II. It’s not for Pokefanatics like RPadholic bsukenyan, but millions of gamers are sure to love PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond. The Nintendo DS gets some demonic excitement with Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2.

Normally, I don’t include DLC in this roundup, but I’m completely excited for the downloadable Final Fantasy XIII-2 goods hitting this week. Sazh Katzroy — the coolest single-father in gaming? — returns in an add-on adventure. And yes, I’m totally downloading Serah’s beachwear costume. At least I can admit it.

How about you? Any new games for you this week?

Free GBA Games for 3DS Ambassadors

Nintendo has announced 10 new Game Boy Advance freebies for 3DS Ambassadors. The games will be available on Friday December 16…in Europe and Japan. No word on what games American 3DS Ambassdors will be getting. Hopefully they’re the same because there’s some awesome stuff on the list. Check it out:

F-Zero Maximum Velocity
Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi’s Island
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Kirby & the Amazing Mirror
Mario Kart: Super Circuit
Mario vs. Donkey Kong
Metroid Fusion
Wario Land 4
WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames

Man, I have incredibly fond memories of most of these games and would love to play them on my 3DS. Hopefully Nintendo of America does us U.S. Americans right and offers the same titles.