Metroid: Samus Returns Gameplay + Impressions (PAX 2017)

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We got a lengthy hands-on with Samus, but you only have to wait a few days to take a copy home yourself!


#594 – Metroid: Samus Returns is almost upon us! Before you take the game home on Friday, take a look at our footage. Don’t worry – we adjust the camera a few times so you can get a closer look. It actually plays really well, and looks so much better in person. The 3D is great, each area is like a little window into the alien planet. And the animation is top-notch. See for yourself!

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Why Smash Bros. Is Awesome

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Two months ago I wrote about why Smash Bros. is stupid. While I stand by what I said, I think it is time to balance out the conversation. There are so many problems with the Smash Bros. series, but there are so many things to love as well. These are just a few reasons to love these games.

  • The Characters. While there are a few characters on everyone’s wishlist that have not made it to a game yet (I’m looking at you, real Geno), Nintendo has done a pretty awesome job bringing out the best fighters from their own games as well as characters from other companies. When they confirmed Sonic in Brawl, I completely lost my mind. The same thing happened again when they showed Mega Man in Smash 4. They even polled the players to ask what characters they wanted to see as DLC, and they listened! Even if you were not familiar with a character when they introduced them (like the Fire Emblem characters), it would be nearly impossible to think of playing these games without them.
  • The uniqueness of each game. Many people complain about Melee being too fast-paced, or Brawl being too janky, but, honestly, I do not think the series would be complete without every single (official) iteration. The original demonstrated that fighting games did not have to be put in a box. Melee showed just how serious a Nintendo fighter could be. Brawl showed how a fighting game’s story mode could be fun and interesting, and gave us the ability to customize it to no end. The 3DS version allowed us to take it on the go (also, one of the top players in our region used his 3DS as a controller on the Wii U version because he was more comfortable with it at the time). The Wii U offering gave us everything we want in a modern fighting game, including online play, balancing patches, and worthwhile DLC.
  • Custom combos. Any fighting game worth its salt has some sort of combo system; one attack leads into another to create a devastating string of hits. Smash Bros is like that, but there isn’t a set system. Any combo has to be “discovered”, and not only that, but almost all of them are situational and can be performed at certain damage percentages. This means that you have to be creative as time progresses; you cannot just use the same combo over and over without any chance of dropping it. Smash Bros. is exciting, dynamic, and will never be formulaic because of this custom combo system.
  • Killing people with Luigi’s down taunt. Hahahaha… Hahaha… HAHAHA! That is great.
  • Low tier heroes. Now, I know that this is nothing new to the fighting game scene, but there is always something exciting about seeing a player do well who plays a character you do not see played often, or a character often considered “bad”. Watching someone tear through the bracket with Ganondorf or seeing Nairo switch to Bowser for certain matchups gets everyone hype! One of my all time favorite memories was a thrown-together tournament in the Brawl days at my college. I made it to grand finals with Ike, and I was up against one of the top players in the region, playing Peach. I ended up winning the match, using my low-tier character. Years later, Scott had the chance to talk with him, and he still recalled the event, mentioning I had a great Ike. That victory meant so much to me, not just for who my opponent was, but for the obstacle I overcame as someone who played a “bad” character.
  • Jank. Yes, I know this was on my list of things that made Smash Bros. stupid, but who does not love to see a nice jank compilation? Things happen in Smash Bros. that would never happen in other fighting games, simply because of the variables involved. A hitbox that extends far past what it should? OK. Characters that randomly start glowing? Sure! Samus’s Up-B killing at 15% or less? Why not?! Part of the fun of Smash Bros. is wondering what unpredictable thing you’re going to see next…. and then raging about it.
  • The Subspace Emissary. I already mentioned this, but, did you know that Brawl had a story mode? It was even pretty good! In fact, probably the most common complaint I hear about Smash 4’s transition from Brawl is that it did not carry over a story mode. It felt like they put time and effort into the stages and the bosses, and might have made a complete game by itself (maybe at a discounted price). I have not played it in a long time, but I can still remember specific parts of the story and how epic the scale of it was.
  • D1. Who does not like D1? No one, that’s who. (He’s the guy that we get the DEEEESSSSSTTTRRRRRRUCTION meme from. If you’ve never heard of it, well, I can’t help you!)
  • A million ways to play. When I play Smash Bros. I typically play it one of two ways: tournament rules singles and tournament rules doubles. I enjoy that. But even if I did not, I would never run out of ways to play Smash Bros.! Break the targets, arcade mode, all items on, custom stages, events, eight players, amiibo, weird token-pushy-offy game, story, board the platforms, Crazy Orders (or whatever it is called), coins, All-Star, multi-man, handicaps, three-on-one, metal+stamina… the list goes on! You could play the different Smash modes forever and never see it all. There are things to collect, secrets to unlock, and styles to invent. Whatever way you play games, the Smash Bros. series has something to offer you.

There are so many things to love about the Smash Bros. series that I could never list them in a readable blog. Share in the comments below what you love about Smash Bros.

What Gameboy Games Should be Remade?

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Just can’t get over the awesomeness of Samus Returns!


Metroid: Samus Returns is a dream come true. While providing us a new Metroid game, Nintendo is also reusing something from the Gameboy library. GB games are the perfect source for remakes, as many gamers today haven’t tapped into that library, and many of those experiences would be worthy of replaying with a face-lift. We don’t want Samus to be the only one Returning from the Gameboy days, so we’ve made a list of the titles we’d like to see. What did we forget? Let us know in the comments!

Footage credit: Juganawt, World of Longplays, Japancommercials4U2

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Heads-Up: Two Button Crew Edition!

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Slightly self-indulgent? Never!


#593 – Buckle up and prepare for some inside jokes! Today we’re playing Heads-Up: Two Button Crew Edition in the app’s Create Your Own Deck mode. Simeon and Scott challenge each other to recall words from Nintendo and TBC lexicons. Can they reach each other’s minds? And more importantly… can you keep up?

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Predicting The Final 3DS Games (Before it Dies)

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But what we really want is Face Raiders 2, of course.


#592 – 2011 is the year Nintendo 3DS launched, followed quickly by Wii U. Nintendo’s home console floundered and died while their revolutionary portable thrived, building up an amazing catalog of games and huge install base worldwide. Finally, in 2017, it appears that the system is winding down and coming in for a landing. As such, we started to think about what its final games would be, and we’ve made this list for your viewing pleasure!

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

What’s Gotta Happen with Mario Party?

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Maybe Mario party 15 will finally be good at this pace!


#591 – Mario Party is a floundering series. Numerous sequels hit store shelves in regular intervals, and Nintendo has been experimenting lately with its formula, hoping that the next game would be the one to solve the series’ declining popularity. Unfortunately, Nintendo has yet to strike gold since basically Mario Party 3 on the Nintendo 64. Simeon and Scott are here to diagnose the problems and figure out what Mario needs to do in order to get back to partying in earnest!

Footage credit: NintendoMovies | TheRunawayGuys | SullyPwnz | WiiLikeToPlay

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Apps that Switch Needs Now!

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OH MAN, we forgot to say Miitomo!


#590 – Nintendo has been sliding by unchallenged in a few areas with their new Switch console. Why? I think we give them a pass because the system is fun to play and the games are so stellar. But there are some things they definitely need to answer for, such as Virtual Console, voice chat, friends codes, and today’s topic: apps. Where’s our Netflix? Twitch? Come on! It’s an HD portable screen, let’s make use of it for goodness sake.

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Hey! Pikmin Review (3DS)

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Finally, the sequel to Hey You Pikachu!


#589 – Hey! Pikmin launched on the 3DS as a big departure from the series. The world of Pikmin has been flattened from 3 dimensions to 2, but how does the gameplay fare after the transition? Is this 3DS title worth tearing you away from your shiny new Switch?

Footage credit: GameXplain

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Streaming Nintendo Games – Needlessly Complex

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So, you want to stream Nintendo games, huh? I don’t blame you! They make the best first party games. An incredible amount of polish and attention to detail goes into every title that the Japanese game developer publishes.

The origin of these games does bring up an interesting point to consider, however: there’s quite a big culture difference between Nintendo and many of their competitors in the market. They make weird decisions that don’t always make sense to their fans here in America, Europe, or elsewhere around the globe. Sometimes the ways that Nintendo interacts with their fans can only be described as “backward.”

Let me put it bluntly: they don’t make it easy for you to stream their content. You’re in for a bit of an uphill battle, but don’t let me discourage you! It’s totally possible to get a stream up and running for your Nintendo console.

Well – as long as we’re talking about a home console and not a portable.

For 3DS games, you’re out of luck. You basically have to have a development kit to get any kind of capture device rigged up to your handheld.

So let’s keep the discussion focused on their home consoles. And away we go!

Streaming As A Nintendo Fan

I’m about as big a fan of Nintendo as you can get. I buy everything they release and I make videos about their stuff on a daily basis. My free time is devoted to this company, which is why I hope you’ll understand when I say I’ve never even touched an Xbox One or PlayStation 4 controller. I don’t think I’ve even been in the same room as one (I need to diversify my friends).

But I hear that Microsoft and Sony fans have it a bit easier with streaming. PS4 has a share button that you just press to start your broadcast? Those guys are spoiled!

Nintendo has never catered to streaming culture. They’ve never made it easy to stream their games – it’s not built into the hardware in any way. That is… until now (hopefully!). You see, there is a Share button on their newest product, the Nintendo Switch. It’s still not equipped with built-in streaming capabilities; it only takes screenshots until a future update expands its use.

They say that some form of video sharing is on its way, so let’s keep our fingers crossed.

That’s not to say that Nintendo’s hardware prevents you from streaming – you can still arrange a setup that works. For me, I have a Live Gamer Portable device that accepts HDMI (for Wii U, Switch) and AV (Wii). It works very well, and I was able to purchase it for around $100. Not bad to get started with streaming Nintendo games!

Nintendo Creators Program

But not so fast. You see, Nintendo doesn’t like you uploading footage of their games to YouTube and making a profit on it.

There’s nothing they can really do about the ad revenue you receive as you are live on YouTube Gaming or Twitch, but they will seize the AdSense you would normally get off replays.

Your videos with Nintendo content will get flagged instantaneously – you won’t even have time to adjust your video titles, descriptions, or make them go live before they’re claimed by the Big N.

This is one of the main frustrations that Nintendo fans experience as they get into streaming. Why? Because many other companies just aren’t like this. And that’s because they view streamers as “free advertising,” which makes sense. YouTubers and streamers are what game developers call “influencers,” because they/we get the word out about video games. We play the ones we like (usually) and the audience sees us having a great time! Many publishers thank streamers for showing off their product so much.

Nintendo doesn’t see it that way. They see videos featuring their IP and decide that they should control who gets the ad money.

Thankfully, they don’t take it all. The company offers the Nintendo Creators Program which ultimately allows you to receive a portion of the profits from your YouTube videos, whether they are replays from a live stream or original content featuring gameplay property they own.

You sign up for the NCP with your Google account, and you’re faced with two options.

The Limited Options

You can either register your entire channel under the NCP banner, or you can choose to submit flagged videos individually and request part of your revenue back.

Option 1 allows you to receive 60%, and option 2 qualifies you for 50%. Keep in mind, these cuts are taken from the portion not already kept by YouTube itself.

The problem is, option 1 is basically fit for no one but Nintendo’s own YouTube channel. If you register your entire channel, you’re not allowed to feature gameplay from any other company other Nintendo.

Yep – you’re locked into Nintendo gameplay videos if you want to earn the greater portion of your revenue back.

So, inevitably, you’ll choose option 2 and submit each video flagged by Nintendo, and hope they agree to split the profit with you.

The Abysmal List

The reason I say “hope” is because not even every Nintendo game qualifies for this rev-share model. Buried within the NCP program is what they call a whitelist (link for your convenience). Games that are on this list qualify for submission!

Why Nintendo limits this list, I have no idea.

The entire Super Smash Bros. series is notably absent, which drives me nuts because it has a thriving eSports scene and Nintendo should be throwing those fans a bone. Smash players are Nintendo’s most dedicated, hardcore, loyal customers. How do I know? Because they still haul around their Gamecubes and 50 pound CRT televisions to play Super Smash Bros. Melee!

NES Remix for Wii U is whitelisted.
NES Remix 2 is not.

…What?

I’m sorry, I can’t make sense of it for you. I wish I could.

The Principal

After you jump through a few hoops, you’ll be set. Once you get past the NCP registration and the hardware setup, a lot of this nonsense kind of fades into the back of your mind as you start enjoying the games on their own merit and connect with your audience.

Should Nintendo be more understanding to streamers? Yes, they should. But they could also just seize all profits and choose not to offer the NCP, so I won’t complain too much.

The slice of advertising revenue isn’t really worth it to Two Button Crew, so we turned advertising off in favor of receiving support through Patreon. Ads aren’t the only way to make money playing games!

I don’t want to worry about the ad revenue – I just want to have fun playing Nintendo games and making friends with my viewers. Like I said, I’m a dedicated Nintendo fan. I run a YouTube channel that puts out daily content – discussions, reviews, streams – you name it. Check us out at Two Button Crew – we cover the latest developments in the Nintendo sector every single day, and we have literally hundreds of videos for you to browse in the backlog! We’d love to see you around and welcome you to the Crew.

How to Have Fun Playing Video Games

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Now you NEED to have fun – no excuses!


#588 – We wish we could say we have “nothing but love” for video games, but to be honest, sometimes it’s more of a love/hate relationship. Our goal at Two Button Crew has always been to enhance your enjoyment of Nintendo gaming and fandom, so today we’re doing that quite literally: explaining how to have fun while gaming. We’ve got tips for casual and competitive environments, as well as single player gaming. Hope it helps!

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

TBC 003: Remakes & Remasters

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Our August 2017 podcast lands closeby the release of some key remakes – Metroid: Samus Returns, and Mario & Luigi for 3DS. This is the perfect opportunity to take some time and examine the practice of remastering and rereleasing old games. What do we think of the process? What’s important in a remake? And what are the best ones? We wrap up with some requests specifically for Nintendo to bring back some of our favorites with a fresh coat of paint.
Ready for more TBC Podcast? We are an ad-free show, and you can support us on Patreon: http://patreon.com/twobuttoncrew
Get Your Daily Nintendose of Fandom on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/TwoButtonCrew
“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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Is Multiplayer Mario a BAD Idea?

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In a word: yes.


#587 – We haven’t seen the New Super Mario Bros. games in a little while, but is that such a bad thing? Nintendo was leaning heavily into the multiplayer aspects of these games, but many gamers found it surprisingly frustrating to share the screen with their friends. Maybe Mario just isn’t a well-suited series for multiplayer. Let’s discuss it! Footage credit: TheRunawayGuys, WiiLikeToPlay

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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Best Podcasts for Nintendo Fans

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You simply MUST be a podcast listener, we implore you!


#586 – Podcasts are magical. Why? Because fandoms thrive in the format. Where you might not have many real life friends to discuss your favorite shows, games, and topics with, there is ALWAYS a podcast for you to listen to. That’s especially true for the Nintendo community, with an abundance of professional and hobby shows to choose from. We’ve gathered the best suggestions, so get ready to subscribe and thank us later!

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

BWAAAAH! (“History of Raving Rabbids”)

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Mario + Minions: IP Battle


#585 – Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle hits store shelves (and eShop) today! To celebrate this monumental partnership with Nintendo, we’re looking back on where the Rabbids came from. Their humble origins started with an Ubisoft launch game on Wii, and they’ve skyrocketed to success ever since. Come for a trip down memory lane with us!

Footage credit: Bryce Games

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Favorite Art Styles in Gaming

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Put that in your paint brush and stroke it.


#584 – Are video games art? You bet they are! Or… they CAN be. Simeon and Scott have an eye for artistic expression in games, and today we’ve gathered a list of the best looking games to feast your eyes upon. We hope you enjoy!

Footage credit: CGR Undertow, BradleyNews11, Polygon, IGN, Throneful, Free Emulator

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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DLC – Is it Actually Doing the Industry a Favor?

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I finally got around to playing Breath of the Wild’s First DLC pack and I had a lot of fun with it. When I finished it though, I started thinking whether or not DLC is really essential to enhance the experience of the game, or is it something that company’s feel obligated to do now, because it may look bad if they don’t. Obviously, there are different types of DLC out there, including but not limited to: enhancements (BoTW DLC Pack 1), additional story elements (BoTW DLC Pack 2), new modes, etc. I get that the advantage of DLC is that companies can release their games without further delay if they want to make an addition to the game but it is too late to fit it in the release schedule, and DLC can make a game last longer. But is that also opening the door for companies to release “unfinished” games? Nintendo themselves have even expressed disinterest in DLC in the past, saying that they want the consumer to have the full experience up front, but the tide has apparently turned.

A while back, I recall a company releasing DLC that was actually already loaded on to the original disc. Long story short, this created a huge controversy, and ever since, DLC has had sort of a negative tone to it, for me at least. The fact that you could buy the disc and not truly own all of its content seemed, well, cheap. I know that this is a rare case, but I consider it a turning point for this type of additional content. Just the idea of adding something after the fact makes me question the motive and ethics in general.

But from a positive viewpoint, DLC can drastically increase the life of a game if done right. I’m hoping the second DLC pack for Breath of the Wild, The Champion’s Ballad, will add a lot more to the game and justify the $20 price I paid for both DLC packs. Considering $20 is 1/3 of the price of the entire game, I’m expecting a lot of content. I do think it’s smart for Nintendo to “sell” the DLC a little more by releasing amiibo with it, hence the four Champion amiibo, which do look amazing. In my opinion, the more DLC can stand alone, the better it is. Yes, add-ons and enhancements are nice, but I think it’s tougher to pay for those compared with actual, fresh content. I do want to disclaim that this is in no way a review of The Master Trials DLC.

Mario Kart 8 is another game that comes to mind. I loved the bonus tracks included in the DLC, but I still can’t help but think they should have been included in the actual game. My fear, and point of this blog is that DLC in general, if not done right, can only decrease the value of the consumer dollar. Nintendo has surely jumped on the DLC bandwagon, and I think they are still in the experimentation phase. It seems like when it comes to releasing content after the fact, more developers have been getting away with charging more for less. At least that’s how things seem to be trending. The Master Trials was a fun motivator for me to get back in the game, but I really felt like it should have been included in the first place. Hopefully, the Champion’s Ballad proves to be a breath of fresh air (that pun was intended).

The Champion’s Ballad is scheduled to release this Holiday Season

It seems like the DLC trend Nintendo has been riding is here to stay. It will be interesting to see how it evolves.

Are Classic Editions the New Virtual Console?

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We will be attending Classics Anonymous.


“Virtual Console” isn’t a term that we hear much these days, especially compared to all the buzz surrounding the SNES Classic Edition and the NES version before it. We’re wondering: Are these special retro consoles here to stay, while VC takes a back seat? Will we ever see Virtual Console on Switch? Let’s discuss!Footage credit: Polygon

Footage credit: Polygon
“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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#GamesExplainedBadly

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As you can see, we are full of original ideas.


#583 – When you take a game too literally, you come up with some pretty hilarious descriptions! Our job today is to make you laugh by giving you terrible explanations for games. For once, we’re trying NOT to be helpful. And we think you’ll enjoy the results.

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Worst TBC Episodes of All Time

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Don’t forgive us!


#582 – In the past 581 episodes, we’ve messed up a handful of times. We’ve given you sub par content that doesn’t live up to our high-quality standard. What’s the best thing to do with those shows? Put them in a collection and laugh at them, of course! Feel free to make fun of us in the comments today. This is a day for fun at our expense. Enjoy!

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

What’s the History of Mario’s Design?

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Heh. Tom Selleck. Heh heh.


#581 – The man, the myth, the mustache… Mario himself. Did you know that Miyamoto originally wanted to use Popeye as a mascot? Do you know who Mario is named after? Prepare for your mind to be blown – we’ve got all the details!

Footage credit: Kotaku

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/