Messages

16

Mario Chat / Re: SMB3 strange 1-up sound

« on: March 04, 2008, 10:05:19 AM »

That makes sense.  You should have said it before.

17

Mario Chat / Re: BEST IN SERIES? Week 6: Bowser's Level

« on: March 04, 2008, 10:04:17 AM »

"Super Mario World" gets my vote (although "Galaxy" might if I'd played the Bowser level yet).

18

Mario Chat / Re: SMB3 strange 1-up sound

« on: February 26, 2008, 09:52:46 PM »

I already read that.  It gets confused about the length and plays twice as much of the 1-up sound sample.  The 1-up sample played when the glitch happens is twice as long as the correct one and isn't slowed down or looped.  For that to be possible the sample must be at least twice as long as what is supposed to be played.  This raises the question of why the programmer/composer wrote a sound effect/musical cue that was longer than it needed to be, and the question of why the whole sample was saved on the hard drive when it was using up space without benefiting the game in any way, and the question of how long the entire sound sample is.  I know for a fact that it's possible to decompile the programming of N.E.S. cartridges to view sprites that aren't used in the actual game, so it stands to reason that the same can be done with sound samples.

19

Mario Chat / Re: SMB3 strange 1-up sound

« on: February 25, 2008, 11:48:50 PM »

Do you mean the explanation in the 1st post of this thread?  I read it and it doesn't answer the question.

20

Mario Chat / Re: SMB3 strange 1-up sound

« on: February 25, 2008, 06:51:23 PM »

Am I to understand that I'm never going to get a real answer to this question?

21

Mario Chat / Re: BEST IN SERIES? Week 5: Powerups

« on: February 25, 2008, 06:50:46 PM »

Again I'm going to have to say "Super Mario Bros. 3."  When the dust had settled and "Super Mario World" was no longer novel, the deciding factor for my belief that it hadn't quite surpassed "3" was the powers.  I mean come on, Hammer Brother Suit?  "World" has got nothing on that.

22

Video Game Chat / Re: Any arcades near your home?

« on: February 23, 2008, 04:27:59 PM »

R.O.T.F.L.!  Nice photo!  Did you take that, or is it a repost?

To those who don't get it, it's a reference to one of those fantasy eps of "Futurama."  Video game-themed aliens invade Earth, and Fry is mankind's only hope, since he's the biggest video game nerd.  Recalling his days at the arcade, he says something like, "It's Friday night.  I have no date, a bottle of Shasta, and an all-Rush mix tape."  Classic.

There used to be a huge arcade in the local mall, but it's gone, presumably because it didn't make enough money to cover expenses.  Making it was a big project, too.  Shame.  There are now 2 different Time Outs in the selfsame mall, but they're pretty bare bones.  Each has a different version of "Galaga," and I'm known to waste quarters getting high scores.

23

Mario Chat / Re: SMB3 strange 1-up sound

« on: February 19, 2008, 05:27:51 AM »

I did read the explanation.

24

Mario Chat / Re: SMB3 strange 1-up sound

« on: February 19, 2008, 12:55:45 AM »

But why did they make the sound effect longer than what's used?  And how long is the whole thing?

25

Mario Chat / Re: BEST IN SERIES? Week 4: Underwater Levels

« on: February 19, 2008, 12:14:45 AM »

I hate to be the loner, but I think "Super Mario Bros. 3."  There's variety, challenge, and good physics.  I also love how the music conveys the feel of the sea.  Nice color scheme, too.  The last 2 items apply to the original "Super Mario Bros." as well.

"World" water levels aren't bad, but they seem samey.  I had forgotten "Mario 64" even had water levels, which says something about how enjoyable they are.

26

Video Game Chat / Re: NES Game Prices

« on: January 14, 2008, 10:32:02 PM »

I wanted to know because I never had an original Nintendo, and buying some repackaged old games last month made me wonder about how much money I saved by not getting them during the 8-bit generation.

Thanks for the (relevant) info, guys.

27

Video Game Chat / Re: The Early Great Games

« on: January 14, 2008, 10:29:51 PM »

I post on another thread made me remember an edutainment game I hadn't thought about in a long time: "Treasure Mountain."  Does anybody remember that one?  If my memory is accurate, it was tons of fun (catchy theme song, too).

28

Mario Chat / Re: Shigeru's thoughts on the Mario movie...

« on: January 14, 2008, 10:26:28 PM »

Listen to this man.  I constantly tried connecting it with the games when I saw the movie on Disney channel, and I hated it.  Watched it on YouTube a few months ago, did not try to connect it to the games, and I thought it wasn't all that bad.

It's definitely better if you don't try to connect it to the Mario mythos, but I'd still argue against it being a good movie.  It has too many different plot elements which fail to fit together as a cohesive story.  I also didn't think Mario and Luigi were strong characters, even ignoring the legacy they were supposed to be living up to, and (and I know this is a controversial statement) I think Dennis Hopper's acting is wooden in every film he's been in, good and bad.  Last but not least, I thought most of the attempts at humor fell flat, and some frankly made me cringe.

29

Mario Chat / Re: Shigeru's thoughts on the Mario movie...

« on: January 10, 2008, 10:55:32 PM »

Why Nintendo even allowed this movie to be made is beyond me.

Making a Mario movie was a no-brainer from a financial point of view.  What I can't fathom is why they chose to make it live-action.  Once you figure in actors' fees and special effects, the movie must have been more expensive than even high-end animated films of the time.  And since it costs no more to animate a magical fantasy world than it does to animate real-life locations, the plot could have been closer to the Mario story the audience knew and loved.  Plus the obvious target market was children.  My best guess is that they were inspired to go live-action by the high profitability of recent live-action films like Batman Returns and Jurassic Park (neither of which were aimed solely at kids, but both of which made astronomical sums through action figures and other kid-oriented merchandise).  Still, they were fools.  Even a bad animated film would have had a higher profit margin than the film they made, simply because there would have been less overhead.

Yeah, that movie utterly failed to meet my expectations when I was a kid, and I'm still not letting it go.

30

Video Game Chat / Re: Akward!!!

« on: January 10, 2008, 10:42:52 PM »

I'd put up some images of mine, but they're a bit more dirty than the one that featured Mario and Luigi supposedly making out in Melee.

Are they of Peach's panties?  : )