Away With The Fairies
Why Nintendo deserve defending...
My favourite game of all time? Super Mario World, unquestionably. It's an absolute marvel of design; it redefined the platforming genre expanding it in ways no one had previously comprehended and more to the point it still plays as freshly and wonderfully today as it did the day it was released. Another close contender would be Super Mario Kart on the SNES. Its sequels have all been good games in their own right but none of matched the majesty of the original. Okay, many of the courses were a bit naff but Mario Kart is all about the controls. Very few other titles have ever offered the same level of pinpoint accuracy of control that Mario Kart had down to an art. Actually, you can add the SNES joypad to my list of favourites too. What a wonderful piece of design; not only was the layout ingenious at the time but it was comfortable and instinctive too. Only the Saturn analogue pad comes close in my mind.
If we're talking about joypads then once again it's all Nintendo. The SNES pad was the first to introduce the shoulder buttons to mass-market gamers. That's nothing though. The joypad itself is a Nintendo creation, along with the d-pad for that matter. These are all things that we now take for granted in modern gaming, things as natural and everyday to us as the games themselves. That's not the end of the list though. The analogue stick? The rumble pack? Both pioneered by Nintendo. As well as defining the gaming "box" though Nintendo have often demonstrated thought well beyond its confines. The Gameboy was the first truly versatile mass-produced interchangeable handheld console. There's the Virtual Boy too. Okay, it flopped commercially and is seen as a failure by most, but try one yourself and I guarantee you will have never played anything like it. The same can be said for ROB the robot and his exploits on the NES. Same too for the infamous Power Glove controller that despite being utterly turgid to use was amazingly cool [Correction - the Power Glove was made by Mattel - Ed]. Now of course we have the Nintendo DS. Whilst Sony are busy trying to squeeze a PS2 into a PSP housing, Nintendo are not only putting an N64 and GBA into the DS but also adding a few new elements into the package that have simply never been seen before in a console. Touch screens, dual screens, in built microphones, wireless link ups - its every day business for the big N.
I also feel I should point out that as much as we love to label the Gamecube a dismal failure, up to this point it has still enjoyed better worldwide sales than the Xbox, a system that we instead sing about from the rooftops and praise as a success. It's easy too to forget the Gameboy Advance that has a disgustingly large user base and is one of the most successful consoles ever made. Not bad for a company that's supposedly failing.
These are the reasons why I want to get into an argument when I hear people dismiss Nintendo. People who do so are simply away with the fairies. It's one thing to say that you don't like Nintendo games - that's simply a matter of opinion. Whilst I can say that Nintendo have never made a bad game that's not to say that I really love all of them. For instance, when I play Metroid Prime I can obviously appreciate what a finely crafted piece of software it is, how it's delicately balanced and wondrously atmospheric, but in reality it's a game that I don't especially enjoy. Take a 19th century English landscape painting, for example. I can look at a Constable and appreciate the skill taken to paint it but that doesn't mean I want to look at it. It's not something that appeals to me, though that doesn't mean I cannot recognise its brilliance. So not liking Nintendo games isn't in fact something that bothers me. What does concern me though is when someone says that Nintendo games are rubbish and for kids.
It's commonly agreed by many that Nintendo games simply aren't mature enough for today's market. But what do we mean when we use the term mature gaming? Let's take an example. Which is more mature - GTA San Andreas or Animal Crossing? I bet that nearly every single one of you would say GTA but I disagree with all of you. Yes, even you. Animal Crossing is a far more mature game in many ways. On the one hand we have a title that involves running about stealing cars, running people over, shooting grannies and knobbing whores, often only to mug them immediately afterwards. Are these mature things? Whilst it may feature "mature" content when looked at pragmatically GTA hardly sounds like a mature game. Animal Crossing on the other hand is a game that singularly only rewards the gamer for what they themselves are willing to put into it. On the face of it there can seem like there's nothing to do yet nothing can be further from the truth. To get anything out of Animal Crossing the player has to be willing to entertain themselves, to be the masters of their own time. Useful acquaintances will only be gained by seeking them out and any goals you may carve out for yourself from within the gaming experience exist purely through your own will. Animal Crossing's world may not be as large or initially limitless as GTA's, but it offers the possibility for the sort of immersion that I believe GTA cannot touch. Many people would disagree on purely visual terms. GTA is all dirty streets, fast cars and big guns. Animal Crossing is about animals living in a cartoon village. But surely forming judgements based on visual elements alone is intrinsically immature? Animal Farm, for instance, is on the surface about talking animals in a farm yet is undeniably a deeply mature book when examined in any sort of depth.
I could make similar arguments about many other Nintendo titles. The Wind Waker turned off many people because it had cel-shaded graphics, but these people are mugs. Compare it to Primal on the PS2 for instance. Both are adventures, yet one is restrictive, dull and linear whilst the other is vast, imaginative, charming and beautiful. Which sounds more mature to you? I could say the same about Need For Speed Underground. I personally don't think that "Pimpin' yo' ride", buying neon under lighting for your turbo-charged car or maximising your "bling" are especially mature activities, no more than unimaginative course design or dull racing is. Need for Speed Underground has all of these elements in abundance. Many wrote off F Zero GX, on the other hand, because it features cartoon characters and novelty vehicles. The fact that it also offered an extremely challenging and deep play mechanic along with gloriously imaginative courses and visuals seems quite beside the point to many. For me the one thing Nintendo games nearly always have is a level of gaming maturity and it pains me that it's so cruelly ignored or simply misunderstood.
You might label me as a fanboy but again I'd beg to differ. At the end of the day I like good games and I don't care who makes them. I have just as much passion for my PS2 and Xbox as I do my Gamecube and as I do for all of the non-Nintendo consoles that I own. I'd defend them too if needed and indeed I do. The only reason I'm more often driven to argue Ninty's case is that more than any other manufacturer they are deeply misunderstood and that bothers me. It's a crime that the company that has shaped the industry more than any other is currently shunned more than any other. It's a wrong that should be righted and this is my small bit. I hope you see where I'm coming from.
Comments
great entry Ben
you argue for the games of Nintendo, and the innovations, and i agree with you on the most part. i just wish NIntendo would step up their consoles. they enter the world of discs with gamecube, but, what's this? no abillity to play movies or cds! what a shock. i can see their angle, but, utimately, i feel they just gave up. please reasure me Ben.
o and can you, if possible, and if you truly are unbiased, make a entry like this for M$ and Sony?
it is alright if you don't, but, i would like it
I personally don't care if the GC plays DVD's or not. Nintendo are about games - full stop. Though no doubt in the future they will put more emphasis on integrating technology in an effort to keep up with everyone else.
It would be impossible to write similar pieces about Microsoft and Sony because they are completely different companies with different surrounding issues.
good one ben i agree completely
can this site start offering video articles and reveiws? i am very lazy
A lot of people think it is a shame that the nintendo doesnt play DVDs or whatever.....but look at it this way....how many people do u know that have a PS2 had the lens crap out and it cant read certain disks anymore? and for xbox i believe u have to buy some sort of kit to play dvds (i could be wron...)
Nintendo is innovative in that they are able to identify and adapt technology that make their consoles better. They did not invent the concept of analog controls for playing games at home. People had been doing that for years on their Apple II's and PC's. They simply adapted that technology to their consoles.
The D-pad concept was, in my opinion, an improved implementation of Intellivision's rocker disc. Even Nintendo's earlier Game & Watch D-pads came after Intellivision.
But I actually agree with the gist of your article. Nintendo were and still are pioneers in the game console arena. I have a strange relationship with them myself. For whatever reasons, I've only ever owned their handheld game systems... even back in those aforementioned Game & Watch days. They'd always been the best at shrinking gaming technology. I've owned them all... except the DS.
I was very envious of a friend who managed to squeeze a DS out of a nearby game shop. It's a beautiful, high-quality, typical Nintendo handheld offering. There was so much right with it that I told myself that I would eventually own one (maybe after Christmas).
But then the PSP got released in Japan, quite literally casting the DS to the back recesses of everyone's mind. I knew of some PSP specs from articles here and there. I had read tons of PSP-bashing articles from DS "fanboys." Everything I'd read was leading me to believe that Nintendo would remain king of the handheld hill.
But after the PSP release, I really started doing my homework. Contrary to many articles, I discovered the PSP did indeed support 802.11b. This apparently was published, but I had only read DS fanboy stuff saying it wasn't so! This had been, in my mind, the single largest factor for choosing a DS over a PSP.
Now, I believe the PSP hardware is superior despite the initially-awkward secondary touchscreen and incredible audio of the DS. But it's all about the games... I hope Nintendo gives Sony a run for its money. I see a lot of opportunities for some great competition.
I agree with you there Cobbledork - the fact that both handhelds will be scrapping it out will hopefully force both companies to really go for broke.
As much as you say nintendo has never made a bad game, thats just your opinion, taking metroid games into matter, they just don't have enough action for me...
Nintendo did define alot of things, but that was for the nintendo generation, they are not advancing well in the modern gaming world...
Grand theft auto games are pretty bad in my opinion, and the type of violence usually comes without meaning, your shooting people, and thats all there is to it, boring quite fast...
Nintendo has been doing well in the hand held market, and the xbox is just surviving because of the few games that keep it running (Halo, Halo 2, Fable and ninja gaiden)
Nintendos games were great when I was younger, playing mario was awesome, playing zelda was fun too, but now, its just not the same anymore...
Good article. I disagree completely with your application "mature". Unfortunately it would take a fair bit of space to present a cogent argument, and I'm not sure this is the place to do it.
One thing that people have the problem with: REHASH.
I won't deny the tecnical and artistic polish in Zelda the WW, but the gameplay was almost exactly the same. Go to dungeon, find weapon, find key, kill boss with said weapon. Repeat. Even the weapons were rehashed. How may times must the master sword be found?
And the sailing, my God, the horrible sailing.
Nintendo also refuses to entertain voice acting, or even fully digitized music. WW music was MIDI hell. Hell, I say.
I think people dismiss Nintendo as "kiddie" because they refuse to take story telling to a mature level. I'm not saying killing and crime, I'm saying give Link an actual personality, create a sense of urgency in the world, and make it personal to the player. When Link's sister was abducted, I didn't care- I was annoyed at having to sit through a text filled cut scene.
In Beyond Good & Evil, when Peyj is seemingly killed, Jade actually shows sadness, the music reflects her mood, and when you go to his workshop and find his abandoned, lonely jet shoes, it is actually saddening.
Link, for all his refined (yet rehashed) gameplay, cannot even match Halo's master chief in terms of personality. He certainly doesn't come close to Solid Snake of Kain and Raziel.
Great piece of writing ! I just loved it, especially the part about defining maturity and Animal Crossing. It couldn't be more exact. You've been "slashdotted", considered yourself "cubenergized" ! :)
In Zelda:WW when my "sister" was kidnapped, I felt a pang. Maybe it's because I have a little sister, who calls me big brother all the time, but when I saw Aryl taken off by the big bird it was sad. And then the first time you attempt to rescue her in the dungeon, you see her before she sees you and you can see the expression on her face go from depression and sadness to joy as she sees you there to rescue her.
The emotion is there, but it's a different experience for everyone. Video games are like that. Games seem to be still finding the balance between telling you the story (most RPG's) and letting you experience the story (Half Life might be a good example of this).
Great article. Nintendo is what true mature gaming is all about. To mature means to grow and to become deeper and learn new things. It doesn't mean to become an adult with teenage hormones. I agree with everything you say, and honestly, I play my PS2 more than my GC, and I love GTA, but I will never like it the way I've liked Nintendo games.
This is an interesting article, but terribly difficult to read.
It would be easier to follow if there were less embellishments. Say what you need to say without dressing it up.
Less is more, right? ;-)
cobbledork, the sound on the PSP is better than the sound on the DS, and the touchscreen is a gimmick.
i really hope you wait for the PSP instead of buying the DS good luck choosing
Thanks a lot for the feedback guys.
Danmc.net - I don't see your point. I can perfectly see why Metroid may be lacking in action and that this might not appeal to you, but this in no way makes it a bad game, merely a game you don't like. It's a game I'm not a huge fan of either, but I recognise its quality.
RevenantAE - I think it is the place mate. I'd love to hear your views.
Christopher Boehman - You're right. Rehash's suck, and Nintendo are one of the worst offenders. You make some interesting points, too. You're right that maturity does not equal guns and killing and that perhaps Nintendo have a less mature approach in other ways. I guess it's all subjective, though, as nixon66's views demonstrate.
sanjuro and Night_Seer - cheers ;-)
B. - fair enough mate, if that's how you feel, but I try to make the pieces entertaining to read rather than simply analytical (or opinionated) case studies. It's nicer to write and, I hope at least, nicer to read. How dull would the world be without any embellishments? Maybe less actually is less? ;-)
Great article Ben... it was one of the best articles I've ever read in a whole time. I've grown with Nintendo. I love their games.
But, since some months ago, I've been feeling bad... simply because all of the evils that Ninty and all of their products possess... First, the GC being constantly considered an utmost failure, a dismal console and being constantly wiped out by their rivals (Sony's PS2 and M$'s Xbox). Then, the feeling that the people want the DS to fail and the PSP to become the new Game Boy (reads, the new handheld king)... and obviously the kiddy image of the big N... These actions led me to think that Nintendo is going to die anytime soon...
Don't say that I'm a fanboy. I have played and owned a lot of other non-Nintendo consoles. And I liked them a lot. But Nintendo's are the ones that marked my life.
But then, right now I've finished reading your article. It reminded me why I love Nintendo and their games. Even with those errors Nintendo constantly make... They are the best in the business... but being the best doesn't imply being the most sucessful... Let's hope that in the future, thanks to the DS and the next batch of consoles, Nintendo becomes more sucessful than today.
Thanks, Ben.
"Link, for all his refined (yet rehashed) gameplay, cannot even match Halo's master chief in terms of personality."
Apples and oranges good buddy, apples and oranges. If you want to compare personality and story, Halo should be compared against Metroid Prime, not LoZ.
With no voice work and no real cutscenes to speak of, Metroid Prime somehow manages to blow Halo out of the water when it comes to engaging story and character development.
Bravo Ben! Bravo!
F-Zero GX is really a Sega game with a Nintendo license.
And actually Sega pioneered the analog controller (it was the Saturn analog controller that Miyamoto used during early Mario64 development).
Just some facts to go along with your Nintendo fanboyism. ;) The Animal Crossing maturity defense is a little silly - plenty of people play GTA almost identically, just with less accumulation of material goods. So GTA must be more mature, because it takes a monastic approach to game design! :D
OH, DSS, you tease!
Hmmmmmm,wot makes a company successful??
PROFIT!!
The xbox is making a los of more than 1billion dollars,an only for a share of the market.wot theyre doing is also illegla,but u know,loopholes :P
sony makes a profit on ps2,but out of all,nintendo makes the most profit of the 3 in video gaming market,so surely they are the most succesful,as if m$ wasnt rich,surely they would be broke by now,therefore technically not suceesful.
i agree ninty make a lot of mistakes,an they annoy me a lot,but i still like them more then any other console producer out there.
also i think it was C YO who said psp had better speakers??
i hate to tell you,but it doesnt,the ds has way better speakers.
dont get me wrong,psp ones are good,but not as good as the ds's one.
loved the article ben,fully agreed :D
but no matter wot,i'll still love nintendo,they make games like no other,an its there inovation which keeps me comming back for more,an i cant wait for next years releases on ds,set to be very inovative,an although the psp will do well,i think i will like to see ninty come out on top,an with the ds,they deserve too.
woot
Why is it that people always want things to do more then they need to? I think the invention of the clock radio has ruined our lives. Nintindo makes video games ... great video games and keeps its focus. If i want to listen to cd's I will buy a cd player. If i want to watch dvd's I will buy a dvd player. Have you ever heard anyone get mad that their couch doesnt have a the capability to play dvd's? A couch is made to sit on and a game cube is made to play vidoe games. Good.
Why is it that people always want things to do more then they need to? I think the invention of the clock radio has ruined our lives. Nintindo makes video games ... great video games and keeps its focus. If i want to listen to cd's I will buy a cd player. If i want to watch dvd's I will buy a dvd player. Have you ever heard anyone get mad that their couch doesnt have a the capability to play dvd's? A couch is made to sit on and a game cube is made to play vidoe games. Good.
I agree Bishop, in principle at least. Though don't be too harsh on these people. Consoles and DVD players are expensive - combining the two is good on the wallet.
Well - if your gaming media format is DVD anyhow, why not just add some cheap DVD functionality to the system?
If they didn't they would have another group of people going "It the games are DVDs anyhow! Why didn't you just make it read normal DVDs! Fools!"
i agree
i only wish that nintendo would bring some more adult games
they have endless great games but they don't have the quatity of shoot em um and that sort of genre that ps2
and xbox have.
to me this is what i think is the reason behind
gc poor popularity
to be honest i like the gc but the only reason i didn't
buy a ps2 was because it was cheaper and i was short of cash. if i wasn't then i have to admit i wouldn't be defending gc.
to me it seem that the only reason the gc is being out sold at some stores by ps1 is that their popularity is so bad that you have to have one in order defend them
where as i could easily defend the ps2 with out owning one.
in many stores gc are so unpopular you can but one for 70 and get 3 new free games that is, if they sell them at all....
I'm feeling you, sol470 (not literally of course - that would be obscene). In many ways I agree with what you say utterly, though perhaps find it harder to say than you. I look across at my gaming collection now and it is in fact true that I have fewer games for my Nintendo systems than for the others. But you're right too - they're damn good games and I'm glad I have them.
I think maybe the GBA is slightly different though. there seems to be a higher number of good quality titles for that machine.
Great article, but look at your "favourite game of 2004" poll! Spiderman2? mafia??? Hitman2???? Not a single Nintendo game :-)
GTA and Burnout deserve the place.
nintendo have always made the best games it's a fact that only someone whose never played one could dissagree with.
It breakes my heart though that noboby has told them how to make a decent console.
nintendo's problem is its inability to defend itself , the "kiddy" acusations were started to dull nintendo's way of expressing itself (color choice, wide veriety of games). the kiddy accusations are just wrong cuz it says all games must be bloody unrealistic and unartistic. but it seems people are accepting these games as good games. next time anyone who reads this thinks about doin a little nintendo bashing, think about what your really telling companies you want
Guy you are right and I agree with you whole way I've never looked at how mature games are until after reading your article and I agree. My friend plays GTA all the time and I hate it because you have to be a bloody nitwit to enjoy a game that disgusting and also it's not very fun and it's the same thing every year they never improve anything but the graphics and nintendo has been there for me with the funny and quirky characters and always making me feel good when I come home from school and I've had a bad day and I play my Gamecube and I feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
I personally don't think this article is true. Let's find one 30-year old who watches cheap, kiddy cartoons. No, they'll all be into movies with lots of blood, gore, and girls. That's what mature is all about!
And while you say Nintendo is innovating, that's just not true. Everything they've introduced has been a gimmick, only to be improved to usability by Sony. In fact, the only thing being innovated are the graphics, and rightfully so -- soon, we'll be in a real-life world when we play our games!
So, for all I can care, Nintendo can take their kiddy crap and die with it; Sony deserves the top, and they're not hesitating to get it!
oh, yes let me tell you when i think of my mature father i think of him watching spawn and beating off, that is who i look up to. not a person who can make me smile and come up with new things to make me happy, instead of makinhg meatloaf everynight(this is a comparison to the gaming world where nintendo is great and new and sony is..well look at them they havent changed a bit not even the controlers are diffrent. they wont be revolutionizing any new concepts of gaming soon, will they?
you check out the nintendo revolution on Wikipedia it sounds like the bomb it plays dvds and i even has retro compatability now I can play all my old games, play my new ones, and watch DVDs talk about awsome
oh and also chester001have you ever considered a Psychiatrist or is that just a father son activity between the 2 of you (even at that thats just not right)
heyy i dont know what im writing about! :-p
Hi every1!
i like da ds and da ps2!
:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)
SMILE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i want gba movie player