-I know, I know, there's no new CD-I review. I had to take a trip to (ominous)Pennsylvania(/ominous) on short notice, not to mention the established massivity of said review. Still working on it, AND I have another, much less massive CD-I one ready to go right after it. Look for that one by 2007. For now, a short but sweet update.
-It's funny, the things you can find when you're not looking for them. Example: I was looking for information on one of my favorite series', more specifically some details regarding a US release of F-Zero Climax. I know, the title sounds like some bad fan-made Captain Falcon hentai, but I can assure you that from my experience with the Japanese version, it is the best one yet for GBA, and even includes a track editor, something fans have pined for since the 64DD debacle, which has nothing to do with Samurai Goroh's man bra, as some have speculated. The disappointing news is that because of idiots like you who don't buy enough F-Zero games, no US/Europe release is in the cards for Climax (although the JPN version is still incredibly playable, if you're interested). The good news? I stumbled upon a little something for the classic F-Zero X.
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F-Zero X is, in my mind, the best racer there is for the N64, and comes in a close second to 2003 GOTY F-Zero GX as far as my favorite racers ever are concerned. I'm not averse to a nice variety; from Mario Kart to Wipeout to even the infamous Cruis'n series, I find racing joy in a lot of places. But for pure speed, skill and challenge, nothing tops F-Zero. Many fans still laud F-Zero X as the best in the series, and sometimes it's hard to argue with them. One thing it has over GX is a random track generator called the "X" Cup, providing tons of replay value. Still, neither one gives you a full-blown track editor, unless you live in Japan and own the obscure, defunct piece of hardware described earlier via hyperlink. Another feature the 64DD gave F-Zero X was two bonus Cups featuring 6 highly advanced tracks each. Since these tracks weren't contained anywhere in the original cart, it was impossible to access them, through hacking or otherwise - until now.
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As I was saying, I found a really good, retro-friendly gaming blog called Press the Buttons, and this site informed me that a programmer going by the moniker BGNG has created a program that allows you to patch the 64DD tracks into your standard, readily available F-Zero X ROM. I've tried it, and since I grabbed these screens myself, that's a pretty good indication that it works. Big Hand has met its match, folks. The best part is that while memory limitations prevent you from adding the 2 new cups to the game, you can overwrite any track in the game you choose with any of the 64DD ones (or any of the standard ones!), giving you an awesome custom experience. From there, you can race on the new tracks in both GP and Time Attack. If that's not enough, BGNG claims that a track editor is coming. For now, you can get BGNG's program here and hit (slightly above) the pavement.
-Sigma Star Saga update: I tried to be optimistic last time, but sadly, the critics win out on this one. Despite being a decided notch above turn-based battles, the shooting aspect is simplistic to the point that it soon becomes tedious having to do it every few moments. This game would have indeed benefited greatly from going full-on Guardian Legend with it, and saving the shooting parts for the intervals between the Zelda parts. Ah well, maybe next time, because there is a lot of potential to be found here.
-Don't forget, coming up later this month is the big Tokyo Game Show, which as of now looks like it could be the second coming of E3, based on the early hype thus far. Rumor has it that we may even see the elusive Nintendo Revolution Controller (thanks SciPG) in action, perhaps even controlling the even more elusive Mario 128, which may or may not still be a game at this point. Add to that a whole bunch of new stuff from most of the major companies. If I'm not too busy with the hopefully-soon-to-be-done-review and whatever else comes my way this month, I'll try to do another update running down the highlights. Or at least, the Polas highlights. Till next time!
