How amiibo Technology Works

#iiqualrights, toys-to-lifes-matter


When our parents were our age, they would never have imagine being able to scan their toys into their video games. Well, now we’re living in the future, thanks to amiibo! But how exactly do these figurines, cards, and plushies interact with Nintendo’s systems? Do they really learn and level up? All those answers and more in this episode of NF + TBC. amiibo Footage credit: Gamecite, Game Wire

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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Video Game Pricing Through the Ages

No wonder Nintendo has so much money!


#537 – Video games… kind of an expensive hobby, no? Ever wondered if gaming used to cost more back in the day, or if the prices have only gone up? When you take inflation of the US dollar into account, the information is quite interesting!

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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Should Games Have Unlockable Content?

Pre-high-speed internet culture may be foreign to you, and we may be nostalgic, but we’d never go back.


#520 – Unlocking stuff used to be the highlight of the gaming experience. It was like finding a buried treasure with each new character or stage discovered. Nowadays, especially with party games, the hunt is less and less exciting. Should Nintendo keep this pattern?

Footage Credit: Super Smash Bros. – The Co-Op Clan | Mario Kart DS – Thomas J. Ashwell

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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DLC Wish List: Zelda Breath of the Wild

Breath of the Wild is gearing up to take even more of our money! Ooh boy!


DLC is just a fact of life now! The gaming industry has fully adopted the post-launch expansion practice, and Nintendo is finally on board. We’re not too far off from our first dose of expanded Zelda content, so let’s start dreaming of what it could be like!

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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Let’s Play Affordable Space Adventures! (3/3)

If you don’t like spoilers for this game, then… BUY IT ALREADY!


Part 3/3: Simeon and Scott take on their new favorite indie game, and it’s on Wii U! The game is Affordable Space Adventures, an asynchronous delight that will surprise you and challenge you. It’s a must own title, and this three part series is going to demonstrate just how hard the game can get toward the later levels!

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

Let’s Play Affordable Space Adventures! (2/3)

Enjoy a more uncut (less cut?) experience with this episode.


Part 2/3: Simeon and Scott take on their new favorite indie game, and it’s on Wii U! The game is Affordable Space Adventures, an asynchronous delight that will surprise you and challenge you. It’s a must own title, and this three part series is going to demonstrate just how hard the game can get toward the later levels!

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

Let’s Play Affordable Space Adventures! (1/3)

We warned you that this game was epic.


Part 1/3: Simeon and Scott take on their new favorite indie game, and it’s on Wii U! The game is Affordable Space Adventures, an asynchronous delight that will surprise you and challenge you. It’s a must own title, and this three part series is going to demonstrate just how hard the game can get toward the later levels!

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

How Should Nintendo Follow Up Breath of the Wild?

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has been out for a month and a half now and I still haven’t beaten it. That’s because after 70 hours I’m intentionally not finishing it quite yet as I don’t want this amazing experience to end. Even now, before experiencing the end-game, I have to wonder: how in the world will Nintendo follow up this masterpiece?

Dungeons

The few main dungeons BotW does have are really good and unique, but their lack of themes that we’re used to combined with overall length of dungeons is something that could be improved upon. Majora’s Mask and Wind Waker both had fewer dungeons than your average Zelda, but thy had more character and intricacy. This is a common thing I’ve heard from fans, and I expect Nintendo to step up the dungeon game in Link’s next open-air outing.

Weapons

I love the wide variety of weapons available, but they don’t last quite long enough. I appreciate the fact that it forces you to use different weapons and switch up your playstyle, but if I find a really great weapon it’s always so hard for me to use it as I don’t want it to break. I hope weapons continue to break in future games as well, but once you leave the beginning area of the game the weapons should last much longer.

Items/Abilities

You get all of your key ways of traversing and puzzle solving before you leave the tutorial area this time around. Once again, Nintendo did the right thing for this game by giving all control over to the player. Next time traditional items such as the Grappling Hook, Mole Mits and Ball & Chain make could a return while still giving the player freedom. The way they could do this is color code the key items, and the entrance to certain dungeons and mini-dungeons that require certain items will be color coded (think colored doors in Metroid). The players can still explore how they want, but will have to leave areas for later once they collect the right items.

Nintendo has already said that Link will continue his adventures in an open-air Hyrule, so here’s hoping they can change up a few little things that will make a huge difference in the future. Until then I’ll have to finish Breath of the Wild… someday.

Why We Are Nintendo Fans

Because Nintendo does what everywon’t.


When is the last time you stopped and asked yourself the question: Why AM I a Nintendo fan? That’s exactly what we’re doing on the NF YouTube channel today – join in the comments!

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

Wii U Masterpiece: Affordable Space Adventures

You DON’T own this game?! Are you even human???


Of course, it’s spring 2017 and the hype is centered in on Nintendo Switch… but there’s an indie Wii U game that we just couldn’t help but tell you guys all about. It’s called Affordable Space Adventure, and it DESERVES you to play it! We can’t speak highly enough of it, so we’ve bestowed upon it the rare designation of “masterpiece” and this video practically begs you to give it a download! Footage Credit to DreamcastGuy!

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

Reactions: Making of – Breath of the Wild

Maybe Nintendo will make a Nintendo Reacts video to our reaction video reacting to their Making Of video!


Nintendo put out a short series of videos documenting the development process of their latest and greatest title: Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. We watched all of them and took down some notes to discuss, like what the biggest takeaways were and what some of the coolest ides were that got cut from the final game. Did you enjoy this behind-the-scenes look from the Big N? Let us know in the comments!

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

How Switch Combines Past Systems

No idea why they didn’t mention the Virtual Boy at all…


The Nintendo Switch is the product of over 30 years of hardware manufacturing. Its designers learned a lot along the way, and have kept the best features of each console that proceeded it. The result is a Nintendo system that has a little bit of everything!

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

Link’s Log: A Narrative Breath of The Wild Let’s Play

So today was…interesting

It all started with a bright light and a girl’s voice calling my name; beckoning me to open my eyes. The voice sounded like that of a noble woman, with that soft, breathy accent that the inbred stratum of Hyrulian society thinks sounds sophisticated for whatever reason. Questions regarding what kind of person the voice belonged to quickly evaporated once I opened my eyes, however. Upon awakening, I found myself alone in a dark, empty room.

…in my underwear.

Yeah, one of those days…

Still quite groggy, I attempted to take in my surroundings. As stated before, the room was dark, lit only by faintly glowing decorations on the walls and furnishings. Speaking of furnishings, the only objects were the trough in which I was laying and a glowing orange pedestal. It didn’t take me long to realize where I was. A dark room with a trough for people to float in? Clearly some sort of sensory deprivation tank, which would mean this is probably some sort of new-age spa. That would also explain the voice and weird visions; I was in the tank for too long and started hallucinating.

Confident in my deductions, I placed my bare feet on rough stone floor. Trying not to think about when the last time the floor was cleaned, I staggered over to the pedestal for a closer look. The top of the object was comprised of two concentric dials adorned with glowing, interconnected patterns. On my arrival, the center dial began to spin and shortly afterward produced some sort of rectangular device. Before I could even question why any sane person would create such a needlessly elaborate charging dock for their Hy-Pad™, the voice from before spoke up, this time explaining that the device was a “Sheikah-Slate” and imploring me to take it.

Sheikah-Slate…now where have I heard that before? Oh yeah, I pretty sure it’s that open-source alternative to the Hy-Pad™ everyone was talking about awhile back.

Anyway, after taking the tablet, a nearby door opened up. Peering through the opening, I saw crates, barrels, and two ornate stone chests. I stumbled through the door and up to one of the chests. Inside were a pair of well-worn pants and boots. Glad to finally have some clothes, I put them on only to find they weren’t my size. The other chest contained a shirt, also too small for me. I don’t know which bothered me more, the fact that someone misplaced my clothes or that they thought the shirt needed its own chest despite there clearly being enough space left in the other one.

I debated whether being clothed really out-weighed looking like a hipster, but I eventually rationalized that it was only until I could explain the mix-up to the spa’s receptionist.

At the end of the hall was another pedestal. Again, the feminine voice began dictating instructions. I really don’t like it when the voices in my head start getting bossy. Lacking any other options, however, I did as I was told and held the tablet up to the pedestal, thus opening yet another door. As I shielded my eyes from the light pouring in, the voice in my head told me I was “the light that must shine on Hyrule.”

I briefly contemplated whether the voice was trying to persuade me to start a cult before realizing that despite being out of the sensory deprivation tank for a while now, I was still hearing voices in my head. Yeah…definitely one of those days…

Despite the broken stairs, I managed to clamber my way towards the light at the end of the tunnel. Instead of finding myself in a reception area—like I expected—I was outside overlooking a forest. A quick scan of the area revealed three things: 1) I didn’t know where I was, 2) there was a creepy old hobo staring at me off to my right, and 3) I still had no clue where my clothes where. While I had reservations about approaching the hobo (or any hobo for that matter), there was no one else to ask for directions. I made my way downhill, making sure to pick up a tree branch along the way—just in case.

What has that hobo been eating? He's HUGE!

After a brief trek, I reached the vagrant’s camp. Ignoring the unpleasant aromatic mix of wood smoke and hobo, I politely asked the bum who he was and where we were. He deflected the first question, simply saying he was just “an old fool” (no arguments there). He was much more forthcoming when answering the second, stating that we were on the Great Plateau, that this was the birthplace of Hyrule, and something about an abandoned temple. My eyes rolled so hard I started getting dizzy: if this place was so important, why have I never heard of it? Regardless, I figured that the temple, abandoned or not, must have something that could tell me where I was.

Along the way, I was once again accosted by sound of a girl’s voice, this time goading me to find a place marked on my Sheikah-Slate. Despite my better judgment, I checked the map app to find that the previous user had indeed marked a nearby position. The sensory deprivation theory was starting to lose credibility…

I did my best to ignore the encroaching existential crisis that comes with frequent hallucinations as I made my way over to the temple. The surrounding ruins were littered with strange statues that looked a little like octoroks. Some sort of modern art installation? Whatever they were supposed to represent, it just looked tacky…which—knowing artists these days—may have been the point.

Around then is when I started to notice figures in the distance. They didn’t look like Hylians, or even round-eared folk (I forget the polite term for them). I really didn’t care to find out what it was, deciding it best to not draw too much attention to myself. Despite my best efforts, however, I came face-to-face with one of the creatures at the top of a stairway leading up to the temple. A bokoblin…I couldn’t help but chuckle at my own paranoia as I brought an axe down on it’s head. You know you’re on-edge when even bokoblins spook you. Still, as pathetic as they are, the place being overrun with the little blighters wasn’t very reassuring.

Not much remained of the temple on ground-level. No doubt those filthy bokoblins looted this place until there was nothing of worth left. I quickly formulated a new plan: climb to the roof and look for any towns, settlements, or even familiar landmarks. After a perilous climb, I managed to reach the temple’s steeple. I quickly surveyed the surrounding countryside. That’s when I saw it on the other side of a field: a cabin!

I hastily scrambled down the temple ruins and booked it across the field. A short time later, I arrived at the cabin, peered in, and found it…completely empty. Upon further investigation I realized this must be where Old Fool was squatting (why would I expect anything else?). Running out of ideas, I decided to just pick a direction and hope I found a town or something.

It wasn’t long before I nearly walked off a cliff. Turns out Old Fool wasn’t kidding about this being a “great plateau”. There’s no way I’ll be able to climb my way off this goddess forsaken rock.

As per tradition, I took the opportunity to spit over the edge. Stupid bokoblins at the bottom kept looking for rain clouds. It was pretty funny.

Disheartened, I decided to investigate the point on the map. Hallucination Girl did seem to know how to open those doors, and it’s not like I had anything else to do, plus the Slate’s previous user wouldn’t have marked that spot no for reason, right? I followed the map until I reached an alcove with yet another garish glowing pedestal. I knew the drill.

Apparently not, because instead of opening a door, I somehow got a tower to spring from under my feet. No, you read that right, a whole tower. After I managed to peel myself off the floor and calm myself down by reciting a mantra of disjointed curses, I noticed my Sheikah-Slate had downloaded map data for the plateau. That’s handy, I guess.

That’s when I heard her—I mean it—again. Honestly, I don’t know what it tried to convince me to do this time, as I was a little distracted by the image of the shadowy form of a pig engulfing a distant castle. I think the parts of my brain responsible for auditory hallucinations and visual ones are competing for my attention.

Climbing down was difficult. Who ever the idiot that designed the tower was, he apparently didn’t believe in ladders or stairs. I had to jump between platforms jutting from the sides of the tower. Also, I was distracted by that whole “I’m probably crazy” thing. I really wanted to write-off what I just saw as the result of a head injury, but given the frequency, persistence, and increasing vividness of my delusions—not to mention the fact I woke up in a spa and/or psychiatric ward with no memory of how I got there—I couldn’t rule out the possibility of some sort of long term psychological condition. Either way, I should probably find a doctor when I get out of here.

Once at the bottom, Old Fool arrived via some sort of miniature hang-glider. He asked me if anything happened while I was up there. Still mad about earlier, I refused to speak. He then asked if I heard a voice, which he insisted he could tell happened from the way I acted at the top of the tower. Yeah right, like his blurry, semi-sober hobo eyes could make out anything from where he was sitting. I refused to acknowledge his lucky guess or answer any of his other questions.

After he realized his prodding wasn’t going to get me to open up about my psychosis, he decided to change the subject. “I assume you caught sight of that atrocity enshrouding the castle,” he said turning his gaze to the castle and gesturing with his walking-stick. I felt like I had been kicked in the chest. How did he know about that? Could that thing be real? I quickly came to my senses; surely there was a simpler answer. Maybe he was just another hallucination, perhaps he’s somehow been gaslighting me this whole time, or he could just have gotten a hold of my medical records and decided to mess with me. I tried my best not to let on and humored him.

After some talk about a great calamity—y’know, typical doomsday-cult stuff—he offered me his glider in exchange for whatever treasure I found in a nearby shrine. Eager for an easy way off the plateau, I agreed. The outside of the shrine looked much like the tower and spa, with weird coral-like carvings on its walls. I cautiously used my tablet to unlock the front door and proceeded down the elevator.

Don't really appreciate them hijacking Hylia's name and iconography to sell mobile apps, to be honest.

Once inside, I was greeted by a prerecorded message welcoming me to some sort of trial. Seeing yet another glowing pedestal, I reflexively walked up to it and placed my Slate on it. My Pavlovian conditioning was rewarded with a free app for my Sheikah-Slate. While I don’t care for how they invasively installed software on my device without so much as asking, I have to admit it’s a cool app. It lets me pick up metal objects from a distance. I wonder why they’d just give this away; maybe it’s still in beta? Either way, I shouldn’t overuse it: probably drains the battery like nothing else.

After that, I explored the testing area they provided looking for anything else of value. There isn’t much else worth mentioning except whoever was here last forgot to turn off one of the security robots. Regardless, I effortlessly made my way to the end of the obstacle course and listened as a hologram offered me a congratulatory message and something called a “spirit-orb”. No clue what that was about.

Shortly after I exited the shrine, Old Fool swooped in on his glider to check-in on me. Despite our agreement, and my frequent, tactful reminders, he decided to hold onto the glider. Now he says I need to loot all of the shrines on the Great Plateau. I’m really starting to hate that guy…

So it looks like I’m going to be stuck here for awhile. It’s getting late: I’ll continue in the morning. In the meantime, I’ve decided to keep this journal as a record of my time stranded on the Great Plateau. I can probably adapt it into a best selling book once I get out of here. And if I don’t make it, at least whoever finds this will know:

Don’t trust the old man.

~ Link


About the Author: Glen is a lifelong Nintendo fan whose love of video games has inspired him to pursue a career in computer programming. He’s currently studying to get his master’s degree in computer science from Oklahoma State University. He’s too busy playing Breath of the Wild to come up with a witty, self-deprecating fact about himself.

Nintendo’s Top-Selling Wii U Titles

Nothing more thrilling than game sale figures, amiright?


You might be very surprised at the sales records that some of the best Wii U games set. While not regarded as a financial success by most, the Wii U platform was home to some of Nintendo’s most polished work. And the sales figures and various attach rates prove that! Come with Simeon and Scott for a walk down monetary lane as they look at some dollars and cents.

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

What’s Going On with the Metroid Series?

Now excuse us as we cry ourselves to sleep.


We are Metroid fans through and through. What that means is this: if you are also a Samus enthusiast, we feel your pain. Metroid fans typically get the short end of the stick, and we feel overlooked when Nintendo services many of their other IPs but leaves the Metroid fanbases with leftovers. We want more Metroid, and we want work from Nintendo’s A Team! We at Two Button Crew don’t feel like that’s too much to ask, so today we’re looking at where in the world (or galaxy?) the Metroid series has disappeared to.

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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Zelda: BotW Challenge – Infiltrating Ganon’s Castle

Can you imagine what we’d do if we just beat the game while making this episode… accidentally?!


Can we make it into Ganon’s castle, with only early-game items and armor?! Ryan, Simeon, and Scott take turns with the pair of Joy-Con to see what they can do against the Malice and Guardians. Spoiler disclaimer: We approach the endgame, but do NOT meet the final boss.

Shot by Alex Campbell

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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How Nintendo Handles DLC

Season pass used to be a bad word – now Nintendo’s saying it all the time!


Breath of the Wild may be receiving perfect scores from around the industry, but its recent DLC expansion pass announcement was not met with as much enthusiasm. Simeon and Scott take a look at Nintendo’s downloadable content track record today before discussing the promise of added content for Link’s newest adventure. How are you feeling about the opportunity to pay to play more of Hyrule’s open world? Sound off in the comments below!

Shot by Alex Campbell

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

The Nintendo Experience: Remembering the Wii U’s Best

The Wii U was a unique offering. Nintendo rolled the dice, and, to most onlookers, it seems as though they lost. As with most things in life, most people’s trash is one eccentric fan’s treasure. What the Wii U lacked in quantity, it made up for in some unrepeatable experiences.

Now, while it’s difficult to say that a game that has come out less than 10 years ago is a classic, these games are definitely worthy of being inducted into the Nintendo Experience. I already highlighted Nintendo Land. It was the perfect tech demo to show what Wii U was all about: the capabilities of the Game Pad and asymmetrical gameplay. These other inductees were selected not for their individuality, but because of their stand-out excellence in already established franchises.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U had a lot to prove. There were tons of fans of Melee and were let down by Brawl, and needed be to won back. Some, such as myself, loved Brawl, and doubted that the next entry would top such an amazing game (however flawed). It utterly destroyed any expectations put on it.

I applaud the team that worked on this game, not just for a well-put-together art piece, nor a Nintendo fighting game FINALLY ready for online competition, but also for striving for balance. Balance has been lacking in previous series entries, and while there still seem to be tiers of viability, the array of characters from such a large cast that are seen on the top of leader boards is diverse. The use of patches has been good for the most part (though, why they nerfed Luigi’s throw combos I will never know). For such a huge roster balance is hard to maintain, but this team seems to have kept it.

Lastly, I would like to showcase the greatness of Super Mario 3D World. Since Super Mario 64, the 2D and 3D Mario games have been pretty distinct entities. The 3D entries have been more focused on exploring the rich environments while the 2D entries have focused on the classic platforming and fun power-ups. It was fun having the two separate, but now we know, with the right amount of each, they work beautifully together.

That’s it for this month’s Nintendo Experience. If you find yourself without a Switch for awhile, like I do, it’s nice to recognize the amazing experiences we still have at our fingertips.

Why We’ll Miss Wii U

GamePads are about to gather a lot of dust.


Before we officially say hello to the Switch, it’s time to pay our respects one FINAL time to the home console that has entertained us for the last four and a half years. The console that brought us asymmetrical multiplayer, tablet gaming. The console that is home to some of Nintendo’s finest gaming innovations in history! Wii U, you may not be remembered as a commercial success, but we will sincerely miss you! And here is why…

Shot by Alex Campbell

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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E3 2017 Open to Public & Breath of the Wild DLC!

For the low low price of $250, YOU TOO can wait in line at E3 2017!


Two big pieces of news recently exploded on to the scene for Nintendo fans! E3 is being opened to the public?! Zelda Breath of the Wild is getting a season pass for DLC? What world are we living in, anyway? We’re here with our impressions on the news. Is E3 worth paying $250 to attend? Did Nintendo mess up with their announcement of the Zelda DLC by debuting it too early? All these thoughts, and more, inside the video!

Shot by Alex Campbell

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