Friday, March 30, 2012

New Pokémon Sheet: Jumpluff

Hey guys, I'm back with a new Pokémon!



Jumpluff's a pretty cool guy. Although it looks like it can't do much, it can. Just ask Kyle! I don't really have much to say about this guy...I like him, but he's nowhere near one of my favorites



Next up is a Pokémon who's hot Droppings are used to keep people warm (Gross, am I right?)

Let's Try That Again - Kirby's Epic Yarn


Here's a Let's Try That Again that wasn't meant for the channel. Matt's girlfriend, Carissa, wanted to play Kirby's Epic Yarn with him and the rest of Adamant Ditto one night and one thing lead to another and we ended up deciding on putting it on the channel. There's a lot of off-topic conversations about Final Fantasy and technical problems but hey, it is us.




Yeah, so, me and my girlfriend played through Kirby's Epic Yarn and it was fun. We're terrible at it but that's a standard now. This LTTA was never meant to actually be a LTTA so there's a lot of off-topic conversations and stuff like that but hey, it can still be fun right? RIGHT!? Anyway, if you like Kirby or, hell, Final Fantasy, you're sure to enjoy it. Maybe.

First video is below and a link to the playlist is attached to that thumbnail up there.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion 3DS Details


A few days ago, I posted an article about the announcement of Epic Mickey 2. Shortly after that announcement surfaced, rumors spread about a 3DS version also being released. Well, this month's Nintendo Power has confirmed that a 3DS version is in development and I'm about 600 times more excited for it than the original. Here's all the details we know so far.

- Developed by Dreamrift, the company behind Henry Hatsworth and Monster Tale.
- Side-scrolling, platforming title.
- Sequel to Epic Mickey and Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse.
- Use stylus to tap item icons.
- "Paint" (trace) those items into existence.
-The better you trace, the better it is for Mickey for example, a well-traced cannon will only hurt enemies, but a sloppy trace job will make a cannon that hurts everyone.
- Use thinner to erase objects.
- Characters are hand-drawn sprites. (!)
- Scrolling parallax backgrounds.
- Every level in the game is based on an animated Disney adventure this includes "Sleeping Beauty" to "Tangled", with more to be announced. Update: The article also shows stages based on Peter Pan, Beauty and the Beast, Alice in Wonderland and The Little Mermaid. However, it also goes on to mention that some of these stages might not be in the final game.
 - Every character that Mickey saves will take up residence in the fortress that Mickey uses as his home base.
- Due out Fall 2012.
- Witch from Snow White is the main villain. Wrong, Mizrabel, the main villain of the Illusion games, is once again the main villain.
- Scrooge Mcduck (!), Minnie, Peter Pan, Beast, Captain Hook and Oswald are in the game.

I just. I can't even. This is the best idea I have ever heard. The classic Mickey Mouse sidescrollers from the 16-bit era are some of the best from that time period and to hear Disney is making a follow-up with actual sprites and locations from Disney films, as well as Scrooge Mc-Frickin'-Duck. Just. Shut up and take my Disney Dollars, Disney. You can keep the console version if you want.

Review - Sonic & The Secret Rings

Hey, so I finally got around to reviewing this train wreck and since I didn't finish it, because it's so terrible, I decided to bring Kyle along for the ride. Isn't that great?!

Also, I forgot the watermark. Paragons of professionalism indeed.

Monday, March 26, 2012

New Pokémon Sheet: Skitty

Sorry to keep you waiting! But after remaking Steelix, I needed a short hiatus...Also, Kid Icarus: Uprising came out, and it's awesome!


Onto Skitty: One of my favorite Cat Pokémon lines, only topped by the Meowth and Purrloin lines...There's also that really really horrible pairing of Skitty with a Wailord...I'd be lieing if I didn't say that this is creepy.


Next up is a Pokémon who is based on the final stage of a Dandelion

The Top Five Nintendo NES Games that Deserve the Kid Icarus Treatment











So hey, Kid Icarus: Uprising was just released and it’s kind of a big deal. Nintendo fans the world over are rejoicing in victory because this once dead franchise has finally come back to life and you know what, it’s actually really good. They’ve managed to take the relatively simple and undeveloped world of the original Kid Icarus and has turned it into something epic and fun. I haven’t played it yet but it got reviews and apparently has about 40+ hours of content. That’s insane. Hopefully it’ll catch on and this franchise will live again.

"Sorry to keep you waiting for 20 years."
So, in keeping with tradition, let’s talk about other NES games by Nintendo that could potentially make a comeback into something epic. Nintendo has a very strong wealth of a backlog of franchises and very rarely utilizes all of them. They like to stick to the tried and true like Mario, Zelda, Pokémon, Kirby, etc. which is fine, those are all great franchises but sometimes it’s nice to see some of the classics get revived. Punch-Out!! For the Wii was a great return to form for the long dormant franchise but unfortunately wasn’t as well received by consumers as Nintendo would have hoped. Hopefully Kid Icarus can change that and Nintendo will try with another franchise. So let’s take a look at the five I’d like to see the most.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Announcement - April Fool's Day Stream

Yes, we will be streaming on April Fool's Day. No, it is not a trick, it is an actual event we are actually doing. So stop by and join us. Sunday, April 1st at 8:30 est. http://www.twitch.tv/impishmatt

VGM of the Week #21

Is it really my turn again to do VGMotW? Man, time sure goes by fast.

Anyway, I'm gonna hit you with something that you wouldn't have ever guessed was amazing based on the game it's from. That game is Pictionary for the NES and the music is from the title screen.



I was going to post a certain track from a certain Castlevania game but I just had to post this because of how INTENSE and EXTREEEEME it is given that it's, well, Pictionary! It's a damn shame that actual gameplay of this game is terrible. Reminds me of another NES game... We'll save that for later too.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Demo Review: Gravity Rush for the PS Vita

So, short story, I had to get the tires replaced on my car and got stuck in the Wal-Mart for over an hour. After wandering around the entire store with the 3DS in my pocket, I wander back to the video games and, after wishing I could play the Skyward Sword demo they set up without thinking about Wii Motion Plus in-capabilities, I gave my inquisitive mind to the Vita.

First thing I want to say about the demo set up is I find the large speaker from behind the display very deceptive. Of course it has better sound than the tiny, excuse me, it's rather giant, handheld console. Anyways, I was poking, literally, around on it and saw an app for the Gravity Rush Demo. I thought "Gravity RUSH! That's an AWESOME name for a game. So I clicked it and started and immediately had to restart it because the touch controls on it were a bit janky.

Review - Kid Icarus: Uprising



The original Kid Icarus is an NES classic, sure, but playing it today is like pulling teeth. Its meandering pace, frustrating difficulty, and seemingly endless verticality are... well, let's just say there are quite literally hundreds of platformers more worthy of your time and efforts, many of them on the NES itself. But after 20 years and a playable inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Kid Icarus re-asserts itself as a franchise with Kid Icarus: Uprising. How does it hold up? Well, rest assured, it's loads better than the original, though it's not without it's share of problems either.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Let's Try That Again - Mega Man 8


We just can't get enough Mega Man here at Adamant Ditto, so Don decided to take on Mega Man 8 for the Playstation. Get ready to soar through the sky with Auto and Eddie, hunt for bolts, embarrass Astro Man and take down Dr. Wahwee. If you're not ready, we'll be sure to make a Popsicle out of you and if you are, well, see you in our dreams!




Yeah, Don took on Mega Man 8 but it should be called "Let's see how many technical problems we can fit into one Let's Play." The quality is a little ehhh because of us ripping it from the stream rather than recording it separately,  pretty sure there's a moment where a few of us drop, we spend about an hour hunting for bolts and worst of all, we lost a fourth of the footage and had to rerecord it. But if you can get through all that, it is a pretty fun one so be sure to check it out. We never claimed to be professional, after all

First video is below and a link to the playlist is attached to that thumbnail up there.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two Coming This Fall


We've mentioned Epic Mickey a few times in our videos here at Adamant Ditto. This was a game several of us (especially me) were excited about but it didn't quite deliver on the expectations. While the atmosphere, the story and the graphics were all top notch, the camera was garbage, the controls were clunky and there was far too many fetch quests. It wasn't very "epic" at all. Still, a sequel with those problems fixed was something we'd like to see and today, Disney and Warren Spector have announced just that sequel.

Coming to the Wii, PS3 and X-Box 360 this fall, Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two will feature drop-in, drop-out co-op with Mickey and Oswald, it'll feature a fixed camera, new areas to explore and most interesting of all, it's going to be a musical.

"I'm such a geek about musicals. I love the co-op and next-gen stuff, but for me, when a character breaks into song, which they do on a regular basis in this game, it's magic." - Warren Spector
He also mentioned that Oswald will be there to help whether you're playing alone or with a friend, that the camera has had over 1,000 specific changes made to it and he hopes "you will not have to touch the manual camera controls even once to play through the main story path of this game."And that Frontierland, from Disneyland, will be one of several new areas to be included in the game.

While I myself will remain cautiously optimistic, consider me very interested. I love Disney and the concept of the first one was fantastic so if they can pull this off with fixed controls and camera angles, and with sweet, sweet HD graphics on the PS3, then this could end up being one of the best games of the year.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Pokémon Remake: Steelix

It's here! It's here! The day I've been waiting for! The day that I finally finish remaking Steelix!

It's so massive, you'll think the Trainer is Over Compensating for Something...


I absolutely adore Steelix! It was the first shiny I ever came across and caught (Barring the Gyarados in G/S/HG/SS...Also, it was an Onix, originally, but I think you all guessed that) in Fire Red (Later that same day, I came across as Shiny Diglett, which I wasn't looking for, and I also caught it)! This Generation, I decided to actually raise it, and it's pretty good! If only the Wi-Fi didn't suck so bad, he'd see more action! Anyway, back to the sheet...I started it over a year ago, working on it on and off until I finally decided to just hold off on it for a while...So, it just sat there for 11 months, until I decided to put the rest of the sheet together. Here we are, almost two weeks after that, and it's finally done! All this work, and I only got two (HE'S GOT TWO!) Animations out of it...AND LOOK HOW BIG THE SHEET IS! Anyway, I really hop you enjoy the fruits of my labor!



Next up is a relatively small Pokémon who can have some hot action with a Wailord

Monday, March 19, 2012

Pokémon Remakes: Cleffa & Igglybuff

Most of us here at Adamant Ditto hate most of the Baby Pokémon because they're there just to marketable. They add nothing (aside from one or two moves) to the Pokémon line they are a part of, and are generally a pain to breed (if you don't have the right mood setting incense)



Cleffa and Igglybuff were part of the first batch of baby Pokémon, and while the rest of the babies from Generation 2 are at least cool, Cleffa and Igglybuff aren't (You have to admit that Pichu, Smoochum, Elekid, & Magby are all way cooler than those two). Aside from me disliking these two Pokémon, there's not much more to say. They evolve into much cooler Pokémon, and that's about all they are good for



Next up is a remake that will STEEL the show. I just hope that it comes out looking great, otherwise I'll nIX the sheet, and do it at a later date

The Ten Characters I'd Like to See in Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Turbo HD Remix Pinball











Capcom is an awful company. They’ve been on the gaming community’s radar for a while now because of their shady business practices involving on disc DLC and releasing entirely separate games featuring things that should have just been in the original. But, Don already wrote a whole article about that so I’m just going to stop that here. 

The Fate of Everybody's Wallets.
Instead, let’s talk about Marvel vs. Capcom 3. We all know that when the game was released, everybody was hyped and constantly discussed characters that should have been in but were left out. Then Capcom released Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 not but 8 months later and included 12 new characters but people still weren’t satisfied. So there’s a rumor going around about a potential third Marvel vs. Capcom 3 being in the pipeline. Now, it’s clearly fake. It was a picture obviously photoshopped by a member of 4Chan or Neogaf or something but that hasn’t stopped the community from talking about it. So hey, let’s pretend they do release a third one or better yet, DLC that isn’t on the disc for ultimate. These are the ten characters (five from Marvel and five from Capcom) I would actually be willing to pay for. So let’s get started, you already know who number one is anyway.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

VGM of the Week #20

So, It's that time of the week again! Watch out, because it's pretty awesome!

Of course, I'm talking about Team Plasma's theme from Pokémon Black & White. While the Wi-Fi sucks, everything else about the game is pure Gold


Saturday, March 17, 2012

Pokémon Remake: Kabuto

I really like Kabutops, but this is Kabuto, so I'll just talk about him. He was the Alternate Fossil, and, compared to just Omanyte, he's not as good Design-wise (In My Opinion, but I do find Kabutops to be better than Omastar [though Disco Omastar is the greatest thing EVER!])



So yeah, enjoy Kabuto


Only a few more remakes left for now, so we'll finally be getting some new sheets done

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Pokémon Black 2 & White 2 Boxart


Yep. That's it. That's all I got today. I just feel like we haven't posted enough this week and we like Pokémon so hey, here ya go.

Oh, also apparently Kyurem's new forms are called "overdrive" mode or something like that. The details are very sketchy right now so don't quote me on that.

And starting in June in Japan, they're going to be giving out Keldeo through online distribution in honor of Black 2 and White 2, as well as a new movie I believe. I'm sure the states will see this event around the time Black and White 2 come out here.

Keldeo is level 15 and has the moves Aqua Jet, Sacred Sword, Hydro Pump and Close Combat.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Pokémon Remakes: Horsea & Qwilfish

Another Double Update! Now, I feel like I should do these for remakes, and allow the new sheets to be on their own...



Anyway, Horsea and Qwilfish are both pretty cool Pokémon. Horsea's a cute little Seahorse, and Qwilfish's name is fun to spell! Horsea evolves into one of the most awesome Pokémon around, Kingdra, and Qwilfish has the potential to evolve into a cool strong Pokémon, but even without evolving, it's still a viable Pokémon.


More remakes are on the horizon.

Monday, March 12, 2012

The Ten Best Mario Party Mini-Games











So hey, Mario Party 9 for the Wii was released yesterday and I find that crazy. There are nine Mario Party games! No, there are 11 because of DS and Advance. ELEVEN! That is some insane stuff right there. Too bad the quality seemed to be on a constant downhill slide ever since 4. Regardless of how the quality in later games have been, there are very few multiplayer experiences out there quite like Mario Party. I remember plenty of great memories spent playing with friends and family, even some of the lesser ones like Mario Party 6. Mario Party is a lot of fun when you have a group to play with.

Go die, Domination.
But what makes Mario Party Mario Party? Well, the mini-games of course! Each game packs what seems like 60+ and they always make for a good time. That is unless they’re luck based or require you to tap A furiously for 10 seconds like Domination, those games are awful. But hey, we’re not here to talk about the bad, we’re talking about the good. The ten best, in fact. Yes, in honor of Mario Party 9’s release I’m looking at what I consider to be the ten best Mario Party mini-games. But before I begin, keep in mind that I don’t own Mario Party 7 or Advace, so none of those will be on here. Technically I don’t own 1 or 5 either but I’ve played those plenty with friends so I know of them. Anyway, let’s get started.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

VGM of the Week #19

Hey gang. Sorry to keep you waiting!

My choice for VGM this week is from the fantastic DS title, Ghost Trick. I recently played through it again and I knew pretty much right away what I wanted my next VGM of the Week to be: Detective Jowd's theme.




Not only is this tune relentlessly catchy and one of the better examples of how this game's soundtrack incorporates some chiptune elements, but it manages to accomplish so much strictly as a narrative element.

When you first meet Jowd, he's on death row and has pretty much lost his will to live. Your actions throughout the game not only save his life, but give him renewed resolve and a reason to continue living. And this song expresses that so wonderfully that it's really uncanny. There's this real churning sense of urgency to it, but it's not one of hopelessness, it's really got this underlying sense of conviction. I don't quite know how to explain it, but when I listen to it I can just feel the weight of the situation and the sense of urgency it carries, as well as Jowd's determination in the face of obstacles. It's really spectacular.

I know I'm showing my bias here because this is the second song I've picked that was composed by Masakazu Sugimori, but he's one of my all-time favorite VGM composers for a reason. And that's one of the cool things about switching off every week, is that you get to see all of our different tastes and aversions and preferences and bias. So, I hope you enjoy this little number and I hope you go out and play Ghost Trick if you haven't already (or even if you have), because believe me when I say that this song carries a lot more weight if you've played the game.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Review - Sonic the Hedgehog: Genesis (GBA)

So on the same day as they released Sonic '06, Sega released a port/remake of the original Sonic the Hedgehog for the GBA. Surprise, it's terrible.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Pokémon Remakes: Natu & Hoothoot

So, it turns out that I left you guys Pokémon-less for the past few days...It's only because I completely forgot to post Natu! But hey, at least you get two sheets at once!



there's really not much to say about these guys. I like them both, but I feel like Natu's design is a little too simple, but at the same time, something about that makes it look cool...Hoothoot's design simplicity is kind of misleading...it looks like it's simple, but the...thing around the eyes is complex...I also didn't know that it actually has two feet, since you always only see one...




Anyway, that's it for these two...Next up is...still more remakes!