Illusive_Juan
Member
Thanks! I haven't played Balloon Fight in such a long time, but I hum the music from time to time.
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How to revisit Iwata's legacy?
- Thread starter orthodoxy1095
- Start date
Thanks! I haven't played Balloon Fight in such a long time, but I hum the music from time to time.
ReyVGM
Member
Arcana is a little-known SNES HAL JRPG that Iwata definitely had a hand in programming. I'd be interested in learning more about how much he did on it. I love this game. It's a first-person dungeon crawler by the way.
I've also been playing Earthbound, Balloon Fight, and Smash Bros. 64.
That game has an awesome soundtrack. The 1st person view might scare people because it can remind them of hard games like Wizardry, but Arcana is really a beginner's RPG. It's quite enjoyable, and it has an auto map.
And again, the music is great.
Baron von Loathsome
Member
I'm finally getting around to playing Kirby Super Star. I might even pick EarthBound back up.
Yeah the game is really fun.
I discovered that I actually own a copy on my 3DS as part of the ambassador games, I don't think that I really took the time to play it.
I felt really bad for being an idiot.
D'awww. <3
gato_busta
Member
Just ordered this from Amazon. Might not be the cheapest way to play it, but I really want it for my physical collection.
SmackAttack
Member
Yeah, I'll be another playthrough of my original copy. Thanks Iwata for one of the biggest surprises in gaming for me.
sonikokaruto
Banned
errrr, sorry, i meant that he would want us to have fun, even if it wasn't obtained from playing one of his games.
I am Christina Aguilera
Member
Not my favorite, but an interesting one that nobody's mentioned.
That's actually kind of a favorite of mine. Simple, not too much depth for the involved genres, but it sure is fun and the music is nice and 8-bit faux-John Williamsy. As I understand it, in 1980s Japanese game development, the conceptual roles of "Producer" and "Director" were kind of considered the opposite of how the two are seen in Western game development today and in filmmaking and such. Taking from that what you will, Iwata was the "producer" on that game.
Balloon Fight on the NES has been a longtime favorite of mine, going back to the days where I unlocked it within Animal Crossing. Have played the game tons between the 3DS Ambassador version and the 30 cents' one that kicked off the Wii U's VC. So I tackled the Balloon Fight attraction in NintendoLand. Helluva games, beat my personal score and got a golden trophy, got to see the mythical 10 point balloons at least! It all goes to Iwata :')
Though I don't know if Iwata was specifically involved so much like his days in HAL or early presidential years at Nintendo, but Metroid Prime 3 is something I haven't seen brought up yet but I think deserves a mention. It has a hidden voice clip in the game from Iwata himself.
Got what's probably my best score in balloon trip today.
Then moved on and played a bunch of Balloon Trip in Nintendoland. Such an underrated game that surprises me every time I go back to it.
Ordered Tingle's Balloon Trip. Will revisit the Wario Ware Smooth Moves Balloon Trip mini game tomorrow... and I'm still not sick of the game. It really is a classic. The controls still feel spot on, the mix of randomized and standardized elements keep it exciting, and you get that perfect arcade experience of being in the zone, sneaking by sparks of electricity with a pixel's breadth. This one is definitely going into the regular retro rotation.
I'm trying to just enjoy his legacy and not think about the immediate reality of his passing...
Then moved on and played a bunch of Balloon Trip in Nintendoland. Such an underrated game that surprises me every time I go back to it.
Ordered Tingle's Balloon Trip. Will revisit the Wario Ware Smooth Moves Balloon Trip mini game tomorrow... and I'm still not sick of the game. It really is a classic. The controls still feel spot on, the mix of randomized and standardized elements keep it exciting, and you get that perfect arcade experience of being in the zone, sneaking by sparks of electricity with a pixel's breadth. This one is definitely going into the regular retro rotation.
I'm trying to just enjoy his legacy and not think about the immediate reality of his passing...
MDSVeritas
Member
I got through more of Fourside last night on Earthbound, and jeez what a satisfying game to play, in both gameplay and presentation.
This morning I woke up early and got ever closer to the ending of Kirby's Adventure. Finally beating Meta Knight.
Then I bought Balloon Fight and played it on the train to work. I think I'll slowly start getting better at balloon trip, I really want to get those orange balloons at least.
I realized getting off the train though what is perhaps one of the best things about everyone going back and playing older games Iwata was involved in: a lot of these games are being played on the Virtual Console. Everything I played was using it, and it seems a lot of people playing here are using it too. The other morning I re watched Iwata's E3 2005 talk when he first unveiled Virtual Console and I realize that it was a feature he likely had a large hand in making come to life.
So no only are we all enjoying games he had a big hand in making, but the way we're even able to play a lot of them is due to a system he helped to bring to life.
This morning I woke up early and got ever closer to the ending of Kirby's Adventure. Finally beating Meta Knight.
Then I bought Balloon Fight and played it on the train to work. I think I'll slowly start getting better at balloon trip, I really want to get those orange balloons at least.
I realized getting off the train though what is perhaps one of the best things about everyone going back and playing older games Iwata was involved in: a lot of these games are being played on the Virtual Console. Everything I played was using it, and it seems a lot of people playing here are using it too. The other morning I re watched Iwata's E3 2005 talk when he first unveiled Virtual Console and I realize that it was a feature he likely had a large hand in making come to life.
So no only are we all enjoying games he had a big hand in making, but the way we're even able to play a lot of them is due to a system he helped to bring to life.
Hibiki Kurosawa
Member
Damn! Did he really work on this? A first-person dungeon crawling JRPG? I need to check this out!
Checking Moby Game, he's listed as having been a technical adviser.
Knowing what we know about Iwata, that probably meant that he secretly coded the entire game and slid handwritten transcripts of each day's worth of code progress underneath each employee's pillow as they slept.
Sakurai is also listed as a special thanks.
Hibiki Kurosawa
Member
I wish it was on VC. I'm in between games and would totally check it out right now.
I more interested in seeing how people respect Iwata. I would've loved to see what the next console was and how he could fix nintendo problem. He easily was responsible for the two best systems they had since NES if people can't respect that they are clueless and this is on top of games he was involved with. I just hope as we remember his legacy it's not caught up in BS politics and is more about the facts or his own passions for gaming which have been very clear the last generation or two.
I just wanted to bump this thread and thank the OP for making it. seeing it made me ask the same question which led to me buying Pokemon Soul Silver. well the game was delivered today and waiting for me when I got home. so tonight I'm going to bust out my DSi and play some Pokemon!
so thank you OP!
so thank you OP!
Arcana is a little-known SNES HAL JRPG that Iwata definitely had a hand in programming. I'd be interested in learning more about how much he did on it. I love this game. It's a first-person dungeon crawler by the way.
Sorry I'm late getting back to you all on this, but yes Iwata has a credit in the game. Like I said, I'm not certain what his role was because he is listed as "Technical Adviser".
Iwata in the credits: https://youtu.be/VpaVgBgiQm4?t=4m44s
To me that role seems similar to the role he originally played in Earthbound before he decided to reprogram the entire thing himself. It's also difficult because several people listed in the credits use joke names such as Director Mat Sutake whose name is a joke about mushrooms. If I had to guess, he oversaw or assisted programmers, but Technical Adviser could mean so many things, especially on a project as small as Arcana in an era like the 90s. His fingerprints are here for sure though.
This game is very HAL and Kirby has a cameo in the opening cutscene!
Also, the soundtrack (as many have pointed out) is absolutely fantastic. It's composed by Jun Ishikawa who has composed most (all?) of the Kirby games. His music has such an upbeat and active feel to it that it really draws you into the game and elevates it beyond some of its more generic elements.
Here's the main battle theme (my favorite song) where you can really feel the Kirby influences: https://youtu.be/GvlbFJlw51U
Enjoy the game!