Nintendo EAD

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Review Rewind

Link’s 16-bit debut still sticks the landing 30 years later.

If there’s ever a time I dread writing a review, it’s when my subject is a highly favored game that has received so much praise over the years that it’s a bit hard not to sound like I’ve just hopped aboard the nostalgic hype train at this point. Check any top 10 list of the best Super Nintendo games, and you’ll be hard-pressed not to find The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past floating somewhere within the top five, if not the number one spot. It’s a testament to its staying power in the minds of the gaming community at large. When I sat down to play this game for myself, I only had one question- is the game really that good? Yes. Yes, it is.

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Super Mario World Review Rewind

A whole new world.

Witnessing the leap from the NES to the new 16-bit Super Nintendo in 1991 was downright magical. The console had an eye-catching futuristic design (in the eyes of my six-year-old self anyway), and the hardware produced higher-quality graphics and sound that delivered an experience impossible for the previous generation. And what better title to lead the charge than Super Mario World? I remember seeing the game for the first time at a graduation party for a friend going to middle school. We all huddled around her TV, taking turns playing the game. As soon as that giant Banzai Bill streaked across the screen, I was hooked.

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Donkey Kong Review Rewind

More fun than a barrel of monkeys.

It all began on this day 40 years ago, in 1981. Nintendo- a then-obscure arcade machine manufacturer- had a problem with their latest game, Radar Scope. The machines weren’t selling as well as hoped, so the company decided to refit the unsold units with a brand new game. Young staff artist Shigeru Miyamoto was tasked with creating an arcade game that would capture the attention of the American audience. The finished product starred a stressed-out gorilla with an infinite supply of barrels who wasn't afraid to use them. It's the stubborn monkey himself, Donkey Kong.

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Super Mario Bros. 3 Review Rewind

Platforming perfection

On October 23, 1988, Mario series creator Shigeru Miyamoto and his crack team of Nintendo EAD ninjas released Super Mario Bros. 3 in Japan. To coincide with its US launch 16 months later, Nintendo produced a commercial featuring kids clamoring for the game like it was the second coming of Christ. The hype was intense, and it worked exceedingly well. The game went on to exceed the first one in sales, fandom, and legendary status. Mario and the crew had undeniably hit their stride.

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Nick Streaming on Twitch Tonight - 9:30PM EDT!

A brand new Banjo-Kazooie mod is on the docket.

Hey everyone! It's been a while since I've written anything for PixlBit and, honestly, life has just been a bit too crazy to focus on much. So instead of jumping back into the writing fray, I thought it'd be fun to start doing some Twitch streaming. I did a short stream a couple months ago showing off Quickie World, a kaizo SMW romhack (for those following me on Twitter, you've probably seen my growing obsession with Kaizo). Since that went pretty well, I thought it'd be fun to actually announce this one and try to get a bigger crowd involved. Part of the motivation is the release of a really awesome looking Banjo-Kazooie mod called Banjo-Kazooie: The Jiggies of Time. I'm really looking forward to playing it and showing it off to the community.

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Super Mario Bros. 2 Review Rewind

Ninception

If you told me when I was a kid that Super Mario Bros. 2 was merely a localized version of a pre-existing game from Japan, I wouldn’t have believed you. But in fact, that’s precisely what Nintendo did for the US release of the next chapter in the Mario series. This was mostly due to the fact the original Japanese sequel was nearly identical to Super Mario Bros., only with slightly improved graphics. There was also concern that the game’s high difficulty would be off-putting for American audiences. The solution? Take Doki Doki Panic, swap out the main characters, slap a “Super Mario Bros. 2” label on that bad boy, and you’ve got yourself Nintendo’s best-selling game of 1988.

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Splatoon Review

You are a kid, and now a squid.

You’re a kid, and now a squid. I can’t get that out of my head, but this simple phrase is one piece of the whole pie that makes Splatoon so great. Nintendo’s internal EAD team has tackled third person shooter elements in their other series like Zelda and Kid Icarus, but doing a full third person shooter with a multiplayer focus is a different beast entirely. This new IP from Miyamoto’s magic toy box is not only one of the most original shooters out on the market today, with its creative visual style and deceptively simple gameplay, but it's also one of the best multiplayer titles on Wii U right now.