Massively Multiplayer: Gaming In The New Millennium
- Thread starter RySenkari
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Maybe as a true push? Otl wwe didn't knew what to do with him So is posible with an angle with the rock
Well, I'll say one thing: Paul Wellstone is still alive.
I'm surprised we never got Rayman on the SNES. Of course, ITTL Rayman did quite well on the SNES-CD!
OMG They had that!!?
And they got rid of it!!!!?
I'm glad Blockbuster is still around.
Did Amazon survive the .com burst? If so what's the prognosis for conventional retail?
How about 'catalog showroom' type stores? Specifically does Service Merchandise survive ITTL? They had the best chance IOTL, they even hopped on the online catalog bandwagon early. They just got run over by Walmart and Amazon.
Yeah, Block Party was awesome.
http://articles.latimes.com/1995-05-10/news/ls-64592_1_block-party
(I will say that Lyssa Fielding is noted to have been a frequent visitor to the Los Angeles Block Party location ITTL, there's a memorable Rootalk anecdote of someone who spent about an hour just having a conversation with her in the Power Grid ball pit
)I only got to go there once, to the one they had in Indianapolis, and it was great fun. I was too young to go into the Power Grid but I really wanted to. I imagine that Microsoft figures that keeping the Power Grid areas up is more trouble than it's worth (by this time, the Discovery Zone type places were starting to go into decline as they were IOTL), though I assure you that "The Covenant Experience" is just as fun! Microsoft's logic in acquiring Block Party is to compete directly with Sega, as, ITTL, Sega's emphasis on arcade games and just their increased profits overall have made Gameverse into a much more financially successful institution than OTL Gameworks was. Blockbuster takes the money from the sale and uses it to start their online video rental service.
As for Service Merchandise, they do survive, at least for now. And Amazon.com is just fine, so I imagine conventional retail will undergo the same woes as IOTL.
I can see Shane Helms' Hurricane gimmick getting a larger push than IOTL, though it might have to wait until the Invasion story is finished and the brand split happens.
Summer 2001 (Part 4) - Star Fox 3
"As we were completing work on Star Fox 3, I was personally summoned to Katsuya Eguchi's office in Japan. He sat me down, and, among other things, told me that he was proud of the work we'd done on the series and that Mr. Miyamoto would've been proud as well. It was...difficult not to get emotional, hearing that the man who'd given me my start in the business would have been so pleased with our hard work. Then, Mr. Eguchi told me something else. He said that while he had enjoyed working on Star Fox, his duties as creative head of Nintendo were starting to take precedence, and that he also was working on a new project for the Wave that would be taking all of his time going forward. He asked if my team at Argonaut would like to have complete creative control over the next couple of Star Fox games. It was at that moment that the Alliance Sequence, nicknamed the 'Argonautverse' by many of our fans, was truly born."
-Dylan Cuthbert
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Star Fox 3
Star Fox 3 is the third title in the Star Fox series of games, and continues the adventures of Fox McCloud and his wingmen as they fight to protect the Lylat System from evil. Like its predecessors, Star Fox 3 is an on-rails shooter, though the game does have segments from other genres as part of its basic gameplay. It expands on the ideas introduced in Star Fox 2, such as varying routes through the galaxy and different vehicles. It introduces two additional fighting modes: in addition to the familiar Arwing, which still comprises the majority of gameplay, the Landmaster tank, the Wingmarine (a new underwater craft with the same capabilities as the Bluemarine, but formed out of the Arwing), there is also the Hypercycle, a motorcycle-like vehicle that can be ridden at high speed, and also the introduction of on-foot combat to the series. The basic gameplay is largely unchanged, as Fox and his wingmen (Peppy, Slippy, Falco, and Krystal) fight against a variety of enemies across many different planets and locations to save the Lylat System. Most of the gameplay is on-rails, but all-range mode returns for certain segments, both for end-of-level boss fights and for entire levels, but also for certain segments in the middle of levels as well. Players also have more options about how to fight. In certain levels, the Arwing can land at any time and transform into a motorcycle, or even deploy Fox on foot to shoot enemies with his pistol. In some levels, using the Hypercycle or going on-foot is actually required, while in about half of the Arwing levels, the terrain does not allow for landing (or only allows for use of the Hypercycle and not going on foot). Typically, the Hypercycle is used to speed things up and find secrets, while on foot travel, which is usually more difficult than the use of the Arwing, is used almost exclusively to find secrets, though there are a few segments of the game where going on foot is actually required (mostly in all range sequences that are an attempt to recapture some of the magic of Squad Four: Rebellion). There are a total of 15 levels in the game, and while a few levels return from Star Fox 2 (Fortuna, Titania, Solar, Zoness, Serena, and Exxcel), nine are completely new to this game, as much of the game takes place on the outskirts of the Lylat System. Those levels are:
Barrun- A forest world where the initial distress signal kicking off the action of the game comes from.
Albedo- An icy, snowy world where mysterious creatures lurk.
Yakamore- A rocky world lined with numerous caves and filled with secrets and danger.
Crustacol- A watery beach world where the game's villain, Clawstorm, hails from.
Sector M- A highly contested area of space where many of the game's battles are fought. Nearly every route through the game runs through Sector M.
Battlefield Alpha- A region of space near Corneria where Star Fox must help the Galactic Army make its last stand.
Battlefield Gamma- A region of space near Solar where a decisive battle against Clawstorm's army is fought.
Battlefield Omega- A region of space near Venom where Clawstorm's army is defeated once and for all.
Xados- A mysterious world where Clawstorm retreats to after he is defeated.
The gameplay is in many ways similar to OTL's Starfox 2. The game takes place during an ongoing war between the warlord Clawstorm and his army of crustacean-like warriors who use powerful attack ships to attack innocent planets. Clawstorm has instigated a war in the outer planets of the Lylat System, and his ultimate goal is to embroil the enter system in war so he can take over Corneria and thus the entire Lylat System. Unlike Andross, who was a mad scientist, Clawstorm's goal is conquest and war. He is highly belligerent and lives for the glory of battle. During the game, Clawstorm launches attacks on various planets. Fox and his team must choose their battle and swoop in to complete the mission. Missions can be completed in multiple ways, with between 1-3 routes in each mission, varying in difficulty. With every completed mission, the "Battle Tide" meter will move one way or the other, toward Clawstorm or toward the Galactic Army. Completing more difficult missions will allow the Star Fox team to take the fight to Clawstorm and move the meter toward the Galactic Army, while skirting by on easier routes will enable Clawstorm to capture more territory and will move the meter toward him. During missions, Fox's wingmen (if they are alive) will point him toward more difficult routes if possible. Shooting down a certain number of enemies or taking on the mission on foot or on the Hypercycle will also enable the completion of more difficult routes. Missions also take a certain amount of time, which is clearly shown before the mission is started. Ultimately, the player will complete between 6-9 missions before the final mission is decided. Here's how the final mission plays out. It can play out one of four ways:
Easy: If the Battle Tide meter is on Clawstorm's side of the center line, the player will be forced into a final mission at Battlefield Alpha to save Corneria from invasion by Clawstorm's flagship. The final boss of this route is an enormous mech launched from the flagship with Clawstorm on board. Fox defeats the mech, but Clawstorm ejects, and while it's clear that Corneria is safe (for now), the war still rages on with no end in sight.
Medium: If the Battle Tide meter is on the Galactic Army's side of the center line, the player will fight Clawstorm in a decisive battle at Battlefield Gamma. Clawstorm will use an even tougher mech, and defeating him here clearly turns the tide of the war toward the Galactic Army. Though the war continues, it's clear that Clawstorm is now on the defensive and will almost certainly be defeated soon.
Hard: If the Battle Tide meter is all the way at the end toward the Galactic Army, the player confronts Clawstorm in a grand final battle at Battlefield Omega. After fighting through Clawstorm's fleet in a battle more fierce and epic than Area 6 was in Starfox 2, Clawstorm himself is confronted in a massive battleship in an epic multi-stage battle that truly feels like a final boss fight. Winning here means the end of Clawstorm and the end of the war, but after everything is over, Fox has a feeling that something still lurks out there, and the last shot of the ending is an ominous shot of planet Xados.
Gold: If the player has completed enough difficult routes and dealt enough decisive blows to Clawstorm's army that the Battle Tide meter is not only all the way on the Galactic Army's side but has taken on a gold color (basically done by completing all but one or two of the most difficult routes on the most difficult planets), AND the player has already beaten the Hard route at least once, the final mission opens up. The mission starts with a scaled-down version of the Battlefield Omega fight, complete with a boss battle against Clawstorm, but after he is defeated, he utters a cryptic warning. Then the real final mission begins: a five-part assault on planet Xados where the player must use all five modes of transportation to navigate to the core of the planet. First, the player will use the Landmaster to clear the surface of mysterious creatures, then the Landmaster will be lifted up into Great Fox and the Arwing will fight some sky enemies. Then, the Arwing will land and the player must search for a portal to the planet's internals on foot. Once the player reaches the portal, they'll be placed in the Wingmarine for an aquatic segment, and finally the player reaches the core, where they'll battle the final boss in the Wingcycle: Xados, the being for whom the planet is named. Xados is a vicious, multicolored sea god that stoked Clawstorm's bloodlust in an attempt to gain control of the galaxy: once Clawstorm had conquered Corneria, Xados would take control of his mind and rule the galaxy himself. The fight against Xados is the toughest boss battle in the game, but once he is defeated, the Lylat System is truly safe and Fox and his friends can celebrate the liberation of the galaxy.
Released on July 30, 2001, Star Fox 3 is an immediate commercial hit, selling twice as many copies on its first day of release as Star Fox 2. The highly anticipated game, the last title Shigeru Miyamoto contributed a large amount of work to, is bittersweet for Nintendo fans. Critical reception is generally positive, though certain segments are criticized (particularly the on-foot segments, as the game's combat system isn't nearly as complex or as fun as Squad Four: Rebellion). The game is also seen by some as repetitive due to the limited number of stages compared to its predecessor. However, the graphics are outstanding and the game itself is fun, and the boss fights are seen as some of the best in the series. The music, composed by Hajime Wakai and Koji Kondo (the same composers as Star Fox 2 and OTL Star Fox 64), is also considered superb, as is the voice acting. Overall, critics like the game, though not as much as they did Star Fox 2. However, it would ultimately go on to sell more copies than any game in the series thus far, and is also notable for being Argonaut's last game on the Ultra Nintendo, as their efforts would now be concentrated on games for the Nintendo Wave.
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Squad Four/Star Fox Crossover In The Works?
Mum's the word at Argonaut and Nintendo, but there's now growing suspicion that two of the series developed by Argonaut Software for Nintendo may be crossing over on Nintendo's upcoming system, codenamed the "Wave Engine". Certain elements of Star Fox 3, released last week for the Ultra Nintendo, allude to the existence of Squad Four's home planet Lockstar in the Star Fox galaxy, particularly a throwaway line by General Pepper during the Yakamore stage. When General Pepper is contacting Fox during a segment deep in one of the planet's caves, he refers to an ongoing rebellion on a distant world, and that Fox's team might have to get involved if they're able to defeat Clawstorm. Also, during the game's credits sequence, there's a banner with a picture of four heroes who look suspiciously like Shad and his team.
Outside of Star Fox 3, there's more signs of a connection between the two worlds, as during the brief test footage demonstration of the upcoming Squad Four Wave Engine game, numerous graphical motifs are very similar to those used in Star Fox 3, indicating the existence of a shared world. Dylan Cuthbert also said that the upcoming Squad Four title is part of a multi-game project, though he refused to elaborate any further. Could a crossover truly be in the works? Is the highly anticipated Squad Four 4 (which surely will have a much less redundant title) actually the crossover game? The prospect of a crossover of two of Nintendo's top space-based franchises is definitely another reason to salivate over Nintendo's next generation console.
-from an article posted on IGN.com on August 5, 2001
-Dylan Cuthbert
-
Star Fox 3
Star Fox 3 is the third title in the Star Fox series of games, and continues the adventures of Fox McCloud and his wingmen as they fight to protect the Lylat System from evil. Like its predecessors, Star Fox 3 is an on-rails shooter, though the game does have segments from other genres as part of its basic gameplay. It expands on the ideas introduced in Star Fox 2, such as varying routes through the galaxy and different vehicles. It introduces two additional fighting modes: in addition to the familiar Arwing, which still comprises the majority of gameplay, the Landmaster tank, the Wingmarine (a new underwater craft with the same capabilities as the Bluemarine, but formed out of the Arwing), there is also the Hypercycle, a motorcycle-like vehicle that can be ridden at high speed, and also the introduction of on-foot combat to the series. The basic gameplay is largely unchanged, as Fox and his wingmen (Peppy, Slippy, Falco, and Krystal) fight against a variety of enemies across many different planets and locations to save the Lylat System. Most of the gameplay is on-rails, but all-range mode returns for certain segments, both for end-of-level boss fights and for entire levels, but also for certain segments in the middle of levels as well. Players also have more options about how to fight. In certain levels, the Arwing can land at any time and transform into a motorcycle, or even deploy Fox on foot to shoot enemies with his pistol. In some levels, using the Hypercycle or going on-foot is actually required, while in about half of the Arwing levels, the terrain does not allow for landing (or only allows for use of the Hypercycle and not going on foot). Typically, the Hypercycle is used to speed things up and find secrets, while on foot travel, which is usually more difficult than the use of the Arwing, is used almost exclusively to find secrets, though there are a few segments of the game where going on foot is actually required (mostly in all range sequences that are an attempt to recapture some of the magic of Squad Four: Rebellion). There are a total of 15 levels in the game, and while a few levels return from Star Fox 2 (Fortuna, Titania, Solar, Zoness, Serena, and Exxcel), nine are completely new to this game, as much of the game takes place on the outskirts of the Lylat System. Those levels are:
Barrun- A forest world where the initial distress signal kicking off the action of the game comes from.
Albedo- An icy, snowy world where mysterious creatures lurk.
Yakamore- A rocky world lined with numerous caves and filled with secrets and danger.
Crustacol- A watery beach world where the game's villain, Clawstorm, hails from.
Sector M- A highly contested area of space where many of the game's battles are fought. Nearly every route through the game runs through Sector M.
Battlefield Alpha- A region of space near Corneria where Star Fox must help the Galactic Army make its last stand.
Battlefield Gamma- A region of space near Solar where a decisive battle against Clawstorm's army is fought.
Battlefield Omega- A region of space near Venom where Clawstorm's army is defeated once and for all.
Xados- A mysterious world where Clawstorm retreats to after he is defeated.
The gameplay is in many ways similar to OTL's Starfox 2. The game takes place during an ongoing war between the warlord Clawstorm and his army of crustacean-like warriors who use powerful attack ships to attack innocent planets. Clawstorm has instigated a war in the outer planets of the Lylat System, and his ultimate goal is to embroil the enter system in war so he can take over Corneria and thus the entire Lylat System. Unlike Andross, who was a mad scientist, Clawstorm's goal is conquest and war. He is highly belligerent and lives for the glory of battle. During the game, Clawstorm launches attacks on various planets. Fox and his team must choose their battle and swoop in to complete the mission. Missions can be completed in multiple ways, with between 1-3 routes in each mission, varying in difficulty. With every completed mission, the "Battle Tide" meter will move one way or the other, toward Clawstorm or toward the Galactic Army. Completing more difficult missions will allow the Star Fox team to take the fight to Clawstorm and move the meter toward the Galactic Army, while skirting by on easier routes will enable Clawstorm to capture more territory and will move the meter toward him. During missions, Fox's wingmen (if they are alive) will point him toward more difficult routes if possible. Shooting down a certain number of enemies or taking on the mission on foot or on the Hypercycle will also enable the completion of more difficult routes. Missions also take a certain amount of time, which is clearly shown before the mission is started. Ultimately, the player will complete between 6-9 missions before the final mission is decided. Here's how the final mission plays out. It can play out one of four ways:
Easy: If the Battle Tide meter is on Clawstorm's side of the center line, the player will be forced into a final mission at Battlefield Alpha to save Corneria from invasion by Clawstorm's flagship. The final boss of this route is an enormous mech launched from the flagship with Clawstorm on board. Fox defeats the mech, but Clawstorm ejects, and while it's clear that Corneria is safe (for now), the war still rages on with no end in sight.
Medium: If the Battle Tide meter is on the Galactic Army's side of the center line, the player will fight Clawstorm in a decisive battle at Battlefield Gamma. Clawstorm will use an even tougher mech, and defeating him here clearly turns the tide of the war toward the Galactic Army. Though the war continues, it's clear that Clawstorm is now on the defensive and will almost certainly be defeated soon.
Hard: If the Battle Tide meter is all the way at the end toward the Galactic Army, the player confronts Clawstorm in a grand final battle at Battlefield Omega. After fighting through Clawstorm's fleet in a battle more fierce and epic than Area 6 was in Starfox 2, Clawstorm himself is confronted in a massive battleship in an epic multi-stage battle that truly feels like a final boss fight. Winning here means the end of Clawstorm and the end of the war, but after everything is over, Fox has a feeling that something still lurks out there, and the last shot of the ending is an ominous shot of planet Xados.
Gold: If the player has completed enough difficult routes and dealt enough decisive blows to Clawstorm's army that the Battle Tide meter is not only all the way on the Galactic Army's side but has taken on a gold color (basically done by completing all but one or two of the most difficult routes on the most difficult planets), AND the player has already beaten the Hard route at least once, the final mission opens up. The mission starts with a scaled-down version of the Battlefield Omega fight, complete with a boss battle against Clawstorm, but after he is defeated, he utters a cryptic warning. Then the real final mission begins: a five-part assault on planet Xados where the player must use all five modes of transportation to navigate to the core of the planet. First, the player will use the Landmaster to clear the surface of mysterious creatures, then the Landmaster will be lifted up into Great Fox and the Arwing will fight some sky enemies. Then, the Arwing will land and the player must search for a portal to the planet's internals on foot. Once the player reaches the portal, they'll be placed in the Wingmarine for an aquatic segment, and finally the player reaches the core, where they'll battle the final boss in the Wingcycle: Xados, the being for whom the planet is named. Xados is a vicious, multicolored sea god that stoked Clawstorm's bloodlust in an attempt to gain control of the galaxy: once Clawstorm had conquered Corneria, Xados would take control of his mind and rule the galaxy himself. The fight against Xados is the toughest boss battle in the game, but once he is defeated, the Lylat System is truly safe and Fox and his friends can celebrate the liberation of the galaxy.
Released on July 30, 2001, Star Fox 3 is an immediate commercial hit, selling twice as many copies on its first day of release as Star Fox 2. The highly anticipated game, the last title Shigeru Miyamoto contributed a large amount of work to, is bittersweet for Nintendo fans. Critical reception is generally positive, though certain segments are criticized (particularly the on-foot segments, as the game's combat system isn't nearly as complex or as fun as Squad Four: Rebellion). The game is also seen by some as repetitive due to the limited number of stages compared to its predecessor. However, the graphics are outstanding and the game itself is fun, and the boss fights are seen as some of the best in the series. The music, composed by Hajime Wakai and Koji Kondo (the same composers as Star Fox 2 and OTL Star Fox 64), is also considered superb, as is the voice acting. Overall, critics like the game, though not as much as they did Star Fox 2. However, it would ultimately go on to sell more copies than any game in the series thus far, and is also notable for being Argonaut's last game on the Ultra Nintendo, as their efforts would now be concentrated on games for the Nintendo Wave.
-
Squad Four/Star Fox Crossover In The Works?
Mum's the word at Argonaut and Nintendo, but there's now growing suspicion that two of the series developed by Argonaut Software for Nintendo may be crossing over on Nintendo's upcoming system, codenamed the "Wave Engine". Certain elements of Star Fox 3, released last week for the Ultra Nintendo, allude to the existence of Squad Four's home planet Lockstar in the Star Fox galaxy, particularly a throwaway line by General Pepper during the Yakamore stage. When General Pepper is contacting Fox during a segment deep in one of the planet's caves, he refers to an ongoing rebellion on a distant world, and that Fox's team might have to get involved if they're able to defeat Clawstorm. Also, during the game's credits sequence, there's a banner with a picture of four heroes who look suspiciously like Shad and his team.
Outside of Star Fox 3, there's more signs of a connection between the two worlds, as during the brief test footage demonstration of the upcoming Squad Four Wave Engine game, numerous graphical motifs are very similar to those used in Star Fox 3, indicating the existence of a shared world. Dylan Cuthbert also said that the upcoming Squad Four title is part of a multi-game project, though he refused to elaborate any further. Could a crossover truly be in the works? Is the highly anticipated Squad Four 4 (which surely will have a much less redundant title) actually the crossover game? The prospect of a crossover of two of Nintendo's top space-based franchises is definitely another reason to salivate over Nintendo's next generation console.
-from an article posted on IGN.com on August 5, 2001
StarFox 3 sounds awesome; really looking forward to what you guys do with the 'Argonautverse'.
I used to love DZ, I would've been so psyched about a DZ for "grown-ups"; hell if anyone here has a f***ton of money and wants to resurrect it I still would be!
That would be soawesome (oh, wait, '90s) RAD!
If there had been one in Orlando, I could see similar stories about people hanging with people from the Nickelodeon shows they filmed at Universal.
EDIT: O_O OMG! Sorry about that everyone, Taco Bell's WiFi is $#!tting itself today! I wasn't getting any evidence that my post was going through; and when I switched the WiFi on my laptop off and back on again to see if it was just my connection I saw that not only did go through, it went through like ten times! It took me 15 minutes to delete the repeats on this slow connection. I think I'll just catch up on everything tonight at home.
Aw maaaan, that sounded SOOOO cool! I don't think they ever had one in Orlando and (I had to look it up, because I'd never heard of the place) Brandon is clear over by Tampa. Even if they'd had one here, it probably would've been closed before I was old enough to really enjoy it anyway.Yeah, Block Party was awesome.
http://articles.latimes.com/1995-05-10/news/ls-64592_1_block-party
(I will say that Lyssa Fielding is noted to have been a frequent visitor to the Los Angeles Block Party location ITTL, there's a memorable Rootalk anecdote of someone who spent about an hour just having a conversation with her in the Power Grid ball pit
I used to love DZ, I would've been so psyched about a DZ for "grown-ups"; hell if anyone here has a f***ton of money and wants to resurrect it I still would be!That would be so
If there had been one in Orlando, I could see similar stories about people hanging with people from the Nickelodeon shows they filmed at Universal.
EDIT: O_O OMG! Sorry about that everyone, Taco Bell's WiFi is $#!tting itself today! I wasn't getting any evidence that my post was going through; and when I switched the WiFi on my laptop off and back on again to see if it was just my connection I saw that not only did go through, it went through like ten times! It took me 15 minutes to delete the repeats on this slow connection. I think I'll just catch up on everything tonight at home.
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I was looking for more info on Blockbuster's Block Party, but I couldn't find much (apparently the two-or-three test locations were the only ones ever opened); I did come across this timeline though:
https://www.fastcompany.com/1690654/blockbuster-bankruptcy-decade-decline
I didn't know that Enron did anything other "energy" (in some vague capacity), though I found the sink anecdote amusing.
https://www.fastcompany.com/1690654/blockbuster-bankruptcy-decade-decline
I didn't know that Enron did anything other "energy" (in some vague capacity), though I found the sink anecdote amusing.
Summer 2001 (Part 5) - The Katana: A Family Console
Jet Set Radio
Published by Sega exclusively for the Sega Katana, Jet Set Radio (butterflies prevent the issues that necessitated the change to Jet Grind Radio in North America IOTL) is, like its OTL counterpart, a game that fuses skating and graffiti as the player attempts to tag specified points in order to cause mischief and strike back at authority figures. However, many elements of the OTL game, including large elements of the plot, have undergone significant changes. Notably, in addition to the roller blades used by the protagonist, there's also a skateboard option. The main character, Beat, uses both roller blades and a skateboard. His companion, Mixx (the TTL counterpart of Gum), uses rollerblades exclusively, and Psych (the TTL counterpart of Tab) uses a skateboard exclusively. In addition, Mixx and Tab are both playable, and indeed, the player must use them at several points in the game. The skating mechanic is a bit more complex, with rollerblading emphasizing speed (hitting certain targets at high speed builds up your meter, allowing you to tag walls and knock back enemies more easily) and rollerskating emphasizing tricks (performing more complex tricks builds up your meter as well). At certain points in the game, you can engage in a Turf Showdown, where a member of a rival gang will challenge a member of Beat's gang to a skill competition. Winning will acquire more turf for your gang, which allows for easier tagging in certain areas. The game features the same cel shaded graphics as IOTL, and features 35 different musical tracks, both mainstream and obscure, while voice acting is limited to mostly cutscenes, with the protagonists remaining silent.
The plot itself, though still taking place in a colorful and vibrant alternate universe version of Tokyo known as Tokyo-to, focuses heavily on the rivalry between the city's street gangs. Beat, Mixx, and Psych, who call their gang the GGs, roam the streets of the city and tag various landmarks and buildings with graffiti as a statement against the city's oppressive authorities, led by the mayor, Beiyo Belladonna, a beautiful but very cruel woman who dresses in queen-like garb and hates skating, skaters, graffiti, and music. Her daughter, Sariko, leads Belladonna's gang of enforcers, but when out of her mother's watchful eye, Sariko disguises herself and moonlights as Jiki, the leader of the Love Shockers gang, one of the GGs biggest rivals. The first part of the game, which comprises about two-thirds of the gang overall, depicts the GGs takeover of the city, with very little appearances from Belladonna or her thugs. It's only in the last part of the game that all the gangs are forced to unite against Belladonna, who has issued a citywide decree banning all skating in Tokyo-to. A series of missions involves the GGs tagging everything they can in defiance of Belladonna's decree, while Sariko is conflicted about what to do. She and the Love Shockers decide to join the GGs in their tagging spree, only for them to be caught by Belladonna's enforcers. Sariko, who is disguised as Jiki at the time, has her disguise removed and Belladonna realizes that her own daughter is the leader of one of the tagging gangs. Belladonna uses a mysterious noise known as "anti-music" to brainwash Sariko into serving her again, and Beat has to outskate the brainwashed Sariko in order to break the spell over her. Finally, the GGs and their friends, along with Sariko, confront Belladonna and cover her in spray paint, humiliating her in front of the entire city and removing her authority over the people of Tokyo-to. Professor K, the DJ of the Jet Set Radio station, is voted in as new mayor, and music, skating, graffiti, and freedom reign over the city once more.
Jet Set Radio's fun skating mechanics, unique graphics and gameplay, and entertaining characters make it a critical hit. The game is released in North America on August 1, 2001, just five days before the release of NiGHTS Into The Labyrinth... It's promoted heavily by Sega as one of the Katana's big three games of August 2001 (along with NiGHTS 2 and Virtua Fighter 4), but is a harder sell than either of them and is a slight sales disappointment, with significantly less units sold than those two games. It's still profitable, and Sega begins work on the sequel immediately for release in 2002.
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NiGHTS Into the Labyrinth...
The sequel to NiGHTS Into Dreams..., NiGHTS Into The Labyrinth... features much of the same high-flying gameplay that made the original game a visual marvel and a critical and commercial success, but enhanced in a number of ways, with a particular emphasis on combat. The gameplay in some ways resembles OTL's Kid Icarus: Uprising, with many levels alternating between flight-based segments and ground-based combat. The villain, Nightmare Genesis, has drawn NiGHTS into a mysterious realm known as the Labyrinth, and within this realm, NiGHTS' flight ability is heavily restricted, grounding him and forcing him to run and fight. The game introduces something called the Dream Meter that powers most of NiGHTS' offensive attacks. Striking enemies, collecting items, and performing flight tricks all charge this meter, which NiGHTS can then use to conjure up a variety of weapons to use on foes. When the Dream Meter is fully charged, NiGHTS can form the Dream Sabres, which are powerful dual blades that can rapidly deplete an enemy's health bar. The game itself is slightly larger than its predecessor, featuring twelve levels in all, and most of the game's levels are quite expansive, with several segments each.
The plot of the game is that a being known as the Nightmare Genesis has formed out of the fears and anxieties of sleeping children, whose job it is for NiGHTS to calm by defeating their nightmares. This being has grown very powerful, unbeknownst to NiGHTS. One night, NiGHTS is visiting a child when suddenly he is taken up into a portal to a mystical castle. This is the first part of the Labyrinth. The first level consists of NiGHTS fighting his way through the castle. Meanwhile, a sleeping child has seen NiGHTS' capture in his dreams, and tells all of his friends at school that they need to work together to save him. They all go to sleep in their beds that night and try to dream about NiGHTS in order to help him find a way out. Though their dreams do enable him to burst free, with the last segment of the first level being a beautiful flying section depicting NiGHTS' escape, it's actually all part of Nightmare Genesis' plan. He traps all of the sleeping children inside his Nightmare Crystals, forcing them to live their worst nightmares over and over, and taunts NiGHTS, telling him that it's all his fault that the children were captured. NiGHTS is determined to rescue them before Nightmare Genesis takes their life force and traps them inside their nightmares forever.
The next ten levels each feature one child being rescued by NiGHTS. In order to reach the child, NiGHTS must not only venture through the nightmare itself, purifying it and freeing the child by turning it into a good dream, but must also venture into the Labyrinth to sever the child's link to Nightmare Genesis. Each time NiGHTS visits the Labyrinth, he is left without his ability to fly (with a few exceptions, there are larger spaces within the Labyrinth that allow flight). Each of the ten nightmare levels contains a boss: some bosses are fought within the Labyrinth, others are fought outside of it. Each nightmare represents a common childhood fear:
Level 2- Fear of clowns (the level features an evil circus and NiGHTS fights a giant clown head)
Level 3- Fear of lightning (the level takes place in a driving storm and NiGHTS battles a powerful thunder god)
Level 4- Fear of tests (NiGHTS ventures into an evil schoolhouse and battles a mutant teacher)
Level 5- Fear of falling (NiGHTS ventures through a giant vertical stage and must battle a dark entity inside the labyrinth)
Level 6- Fear of spiders (NiGHTS ventures through a spiderweb forest and battles a giant spider)
Level 7- Fear of drowning (The game's requisite water level where NiGHTS battles a kraken)
Level 8- Fear of earthquakes (NiGHTS battles through an earthquake stricken city and fights another dark entity inside the labyrinth)
Level 9- Fear of disease (NiGHTS battles through a nightmare hospital and fights another dark entity inside the labyrinth)
Level 10- Fear of fire (NiGHTS battles through a flaming house and battles a huge, fiery monster)
Level 11- Fear of rejection (This is a much more serious level where NiGHTS has to help a bullied girl who dreams that all her friends hate her, not only is a boss fought in the labyrinth but NiGHTS must battle an avatar of Nightmare Genesis disguised as the girl's best friend, this level is deeply emotional and even addresses suicide, it's considered to be quite possibly one of the best levels ever created in a video game and is discussed in articles 15 years later)
After saving all of the children, NiGHTS must fight through one final level to defeat Nightmare Genesis, battling through the Labyrinth and then destroying it to confront Nightmare Genesis one last time in the sky above the human city where the once-trapped children live. After a furious battle, Nightmare Genesis is destroyed and the children of the world can have peaceful dreams once again.
NiGHTS Into The Labyrinth... is considered one of 2001's best games and the best Katana exclusive to date by much of the gaming press. It's nominated for Game of the Year in many publications (though, in a notable snub, not by the MTV Video Game Awards). It sells exceptionally well, becoming the Katana's first true exclusive killer app, and overall sales for 2001 surpass even hit games like Commander Keen: Worlds United (despite that game having a four month head start). It cements NiGHTS as one of Sega's biggest franchises, and sets the bar extremely high for Sonic Team's next project, Sonic Neon.
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August 13, 2001
Reggie Fils-Aime was excited as he made his way to his boss' office. Hayao Nakayama, who'd formally announced that he'd be leaving Sega in December, had just received the first North American sales figures for NiGHTS Into The Labyrinth... Though game sales figures weren't nearly as complete or accurate as film sales figures (as many retail stores, most notably Wal-Mart, refused to give them out), one could still get a decent idea of what a game's overall performance was going to be. Fils-Aime entered Nakayama's office and sat down, and the two got right down to business.
"NiGHTS appears to be on its way to being a major hit," said Nakayama. "Early sales reports are stronger than any game since the launch of the system. It's likely to outsell Commander Keen's first week and perhaps even Tony Hawk 2's."
"That's great," replied Fils-Aime. "How's Jet Set Radio doing in its second week?"
"It's all right," Nakayama replied. "We knew it wouldn't do as well in North America as it's been doing here in Japan."
Jet Set Radio was of course very culturally Japanese, and though the popularity of anime had done quite a lot to popularize Japanese culture with American audiences, the general game playing public probably wasn't quite ready to fully accept such a culture clash. Still, the game was among the most popular new releases of the month, which pleased both Fils-Aime and his boss.
"Any word on overall hardware sales? Is NiGHTS 2 moving Katanas?"
"It's hard to say," said Nakayama, "though...early reports are that we'll probably finish narrowly behind the Ultra Nintendo again, depending on how well the Virtua Fighter 4 bundle performs."
Fils-Aime groaned quietly under his breath. Though the Katana was hardly a failure, the fact that the system couldn't get over the Ultra Nintendo hump was discouraging, and with the Xbox release coming in November, there was no guarantee that Christmas would put the Katana over the top if next-gen system sales were split between the two consoles.
"We need a new approach," said Fils-Aime. "Games like NiGHTS are doing well. Commander Keen did well. We've got Spare Parts 2 coming out, that Monkey Ball game looks fun, Aerio could do well...I think we really need to try and position the Katana as the family system. Xbox is going to be riding on games like Grand Theft Auto and The Covenant. Violent games, for adults. In the current political climate, maybe that's not a winning strategy."
"Hmm...and the big Virtua Fighter 4 push? That's hardly a family game."
"Well, it's not Mortal Kombat," Fils-Aime replied with a laugh. "I'm talking about for the holidays. Maybe we start in October? With Aerio?"
Nakayama looked deep in thought. It was a risky move, but one Sega had made before in early 1999, around the time Zodiac World was released. The system had gotten a decent sales bump marketing to families, but that bump had petered out by the time Sonic the Hedgehog 5 was released, and after that game failed to move the hardware needle like it was supposed to, the "family friendly Sega" initiative was discarded. But maybe that was just because the Saturn was in decline anyway. Maybe if Sega returned to pushing family friendly content, it would stick this time.
"We're competing with the Xbox, not with Nintendo. This Christmas, people are going to be buying the next-gen systems. If we can capture a majority of those sales, a big majority, then not only can we get ahead of Nintendo, we've got a shot at knocking out the Xbox before it even gets off the ground. And we can ride that wave right through the release of Sonic Neon. Plus, it'd be good PR for us after what happened in Virginia."
"I think your plan could work but it will be up to my successor to see it through," said Nakayama. "Whoever the board decides to appoint."
"Okay then," replied Fils-Aime. "So now... let's talk Virtua Fighter 4. With two weeks left until the North American release, our marketing blitz is in full swing."
NiGHTS Into The Labyrinth... might have been the Katana's first killer app, but Virtua Fighter 4 would be its first real event release. Whether or not the Katana would be 2001's biggest gaming success story would rest in large part on the shoulders of the year's most anticipated fighting game.
Published by Sega exclusively for the Sega Katana, Jet Set Radio (butterflies prevent the issues that necessitated the change to Jet Grind Radio in North America IOTL) is, like its OTL counterpart, a game that fuses skating and graffiti as the player attempts to tag specified points in order to cause mischief and strike back at authority figures. However, many elements of the OTL game, including large elements of the plot, have undergone significant changes. Notably, in addition to the roller blades used by the protagonist, there's also a skateboard option. The main character, Beat, uses both roller blades and a skateboard. His companion, Mixx (the TTL counterpart of Gum), uses rollerblades exclusively, and Psych (the TTL counterpart of Tab) uses a skateboard exclusively. In addition, Mixx and Tab are both playable, and indeed, the player must use them at several points in the game. The skating mechanic is a bit more complex, with rollerblading emphasizing speed (hitting certain targets at high speed builds up your meter, allowing you to tag walls and knock back enemies more easily) and rollerskating emphasizing tricks (performing more complex tricks builds up your meter as well). At certain points in the game, you can engage in a Turf Showdown, where a member of a rival gang will challenge a member of Beat's gang to a skill competition. Winning will acquire more turf for your gang, which allows for easier tagging in certain areas. The game features the same cel shaded graphics as IOTL, and features 35 different musical tracks, both mainstream and obscure, while voice acting is limited to mostly cutscenes, with the protagonists remaining silent.
The plot itself, though still taking place in a colorful and vibrant alternate universe version of Tokyo known as Tokyo-to, focuses heavily on the rivalry between the city's street gangs. Beat, Mixx, and Psych, who call their gang the GGs, roam the streets of the city and tag various landmarks and buildings with graffiti as a statement against the city's oppressive authorities, led by the mayor, Beiyo Belladonna, a beautiful but very cruel woman who dresses in queen-like garb and hates skating, skaters, graffiti, and music. Her daughter, Sariko, leads Belladonna's gang of enforcers, but when out of her mother's watchful eye, Sariko disguises herself and moonlights as Jiki, the leader of the Love Shockers gang, one of the GGs biggest rivals. The first part of the game, which comprises about two-thirds of the gang overall, depicts the GGs takeover of the city, with very little appearances from Belladonna or her thugs. It's only in the last part of the game that all the gangs are forced to unite against Belladonna, who has issued a citywide decree banning all skating in Tokyo-to. A series of missions involves the GGs tagging everything they can in defiance of Belladonna's decree, while Sariko is conflicted about what to do. She and the Love Shockers decide to join the GGs in their tagging spree, only for them to be caught by Belladonna's enforcers. Sariko, who is disguised as Jiki at the time, has her disguise removed and Belladonna realizes that her own daughter is the leader of one of the tagging gangs. Belladonna uses a mysterious noise known as "anti-music" to brainwash Sariko into serving her again, and Beat has to outskate the brainwashed Sariko in order to break the spell over her. Finally, the GGs and their friends, along with Sariko, confront Belladonna and cover her in spray paint, humiliating her in front of the entire city and removing her authority over the people of Tokyo-to. Professor K, the DJ of the Jet Set Radio station, is voted in as new mayor, and music, skating, graffiti, and freedom reign over the city once more.
Jet Set Radio's fun skating mechanics, unique graphics and gameplay, and entertaining characters make it a critical hit. The game is released in North America on August 1, 2001, just five days before the release of NiGHTS Into The Labyrinth... It's promoted heavily by Sega as one of the Katana's big three games of August 2001 (along with NiGHTS 2 and Virtua Fighter 4), but is a harder sell than either of them and is a slight sales disappointment, with significantly less units sold than those two games. It's still profitable, and Sega begins work on the sequel immediately for release in 2002.
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NiGHTS Into the Labyrinth...
The sequel to NiGHTS Into Dreams..., NiGHTS Into The Labyrinth... features much of the same high-flying gameplay that made the original game a visual marvel and a critical and commercial success, but enhanced in a number of ways, with a particular emphasis on combat. The gameplay in some ways resembles OTL's Kid Icarus: Uprising, with many levels alternating between flight-based segments and ground-based combat. The villain, Nightmare Genesis, has drawn NiGHTS into a mysterious realm known as the Labyrinth, and within this realm, NiGHTS' flight ability is heavily restricted, grounding him and forcing him to run and fight. The game introduces something called the Dream Meter that powers most of NiGHTS' offensive attacks. Striking enemies, collecting items, and performing flight tricks all charge this meter, which NiGHTS can then use to conjure up a variety of weapons to use on foes. When the Dream Meter is fully charged, NiGHTS can form the Dream Sabres, which are powerful dual blades that can rapidly deplete an enemy's health bar. The game itself is slightly larger than its predecessor, featuring twelve levels in all, and most of the game's levels are quite expansive, with several segments each.
The plot of the game is that a being known as the Nightmare Genesis has formed out of the fears and anxieties of sleeping children, whose job it is for NiGHTS to calm by defeating their nightmares. This being has grown very powerful, unbeknownst to NiGHTS. One night, NiGHTS is visiting a child when suddenly he is taken up into a portal to a mystical castle. This is the first part of the Labyrinth. The first level consists of NiGHTS fighting his way through the castle. Meanwhile, a sleeping child has seen NiGHTS' capture in his dreams, and tells all of his friends at school that they need to work together to save him. They all go to sleep in their beds that night and try to dream about NiGHTS in order to help him find a way out. Though their dreams do enable him to burst free, with the last segment of the first level being a beautiful flying section depicting NiGHTS' escape, it's actually all part of Nightmare Genesis' plan. He traps all of the sleeping children inside his Nightmare Crystals, forcing them to live their worst nightmares over and over, and taunts NiGHTS, telling him that it's all his fault that the children were captured. NiGHTS is determined to rescue them before Nightmare Genesis takes their life force and traps them inside their nightmares forever.
The next ten levels each feature one child being rescued by NiGHTS. In order to reach the child, NiGHTS must not only venture through the nightmare itself, purifying it and freeing the child by turning it into a good dream, but must also venture into the Labyrinth to sever the child's link to Nightmare Genesis. Each time NiGHTS visits the Labyrinth, he is left without his ability to fly (with a few exceptions, there are larger spaces within the Labyrinth that allow flight). Each of the ten nightmare levels contains a boss: some bosses are fought within the Labyrinth, others are fought outside of it. Each nightmare represents a common childhood fear:
Level 2- Fear of clowns (the level features an evil circus and NiGHTS fights a giant clown head)
Level 3- Fear of lightning (the level takes place in a driving storm and NiGHTS battles a powerful thunder god)
Level 4- Fear of tests (NiGHTS ventures into an evil schoolhouse and battles a mutant teacher)
Level 5- Fear of falling (NiGHTS ventures through a giant vertical stage and must battle a dark entity inside the labyrinth)
Level 6- Fear of spiders (NiGHTS ventures through a spiderweb forest and battles a giant spider)
Level 7- Fear of drowning (The game's requisite water level where NiGHTS battles a kraken)
Level 8- Fear of earthquakes (NiGHTS battles through an earthquake stricken city and fights another dark entity inside the labyrinth)
Level 9- Fear of disease (NiGHTS battles through a nightmare hospital and fights another dark entity inside the labyrinth)
Level 10- Fear of fire (NiGHTS battles through a flaming house and battles a huge, fiery monster)
Level 11- Fear of rejection (This is a much more serious level where NiGHTS has to help a bullied girl who dreams that all her friends hate her, not only is a boss fought in the labyrinth but NiGHTS must battle an avatar of Nightmare Genesis disguised as the girl's best friend, this level is deeply emotional and even addresses suicide, it's considered to be quite possibly one of the best levels ever created in a video game and is discussed in articles 15 years later)
After saving all of the children, NiGHTS must fight through one final level to defeat Nightmare Genesis, battling through the Labyrinth and then destroying it to confront Nightmare Genesis one last time in the sky above the human city where the once-trapped children live. After a furious battle, Nightmare Genesis is destroyed and the children of the world can have peaceful dreams once again.
NiGHTS Into The Labyrinth... is considered one of 2001's best games and the best Katana exclusive to date by much of the gaming press. It's nominated for Game of the Year in many publications (though, in a notable snub, not by the MTV Video Game Awards). It sells exceptionally well, becoming the Katana's first true exclusive killer app, and overall sales for 2001 surpass even hit games like Commander Keen: Worlds United (despite that game having a four month head start). It cements NiGHTS as one of Sega's biggest franchises, and sets the bar extremely high for Sonic Team's next project, Sonic Neon.
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August 13, 2001
Reggie Fils-Aime was excited as he made his way to his boss' office. Hayao Nakayama, who'd formally announced that he'd be leaving Sega in December, had just received the first North American sales figures for NiGHTS Into The Labyrinth... Though game sales figures weren't nearly as complete or accurate as film sales figures (as many retail stores, most notably Wal-Mart, refused to give them out), one could still get a decent idea of what a game's overall performance was going to be. Fils-Aime entered Nakayama's office and sat down, and the two got right down to business.
"NiGHTS appears to be on its way to being a major hit," said Nakayama. "Early sales reports are stronger than any game since the launch of the system. It's likely to outsell Commander Keen's first week and perhaps even Tony Hawk 2's."
"That's great," replied Fils-Aime. "How's Jet Set Radio doing in its second week?"
"It's all right," Nakayama replied. "We knew it wouldn't do as well in North America as it's been doing here in Japan."
Jet Set Radio was of course very culturally Japanese, and though the popularity of anime had done quite a lot to popularize Japanese culture with American audiences, the general game playing public probably wasn't quite ready to fully accept such a culture clash. Still, the game was among the most popular new releases of the month, which pleased both Fils-Aime and his boss.
"Any word on overall hardware sales? Is NiGHTS 2 moving Katanas?"
"It's hard to say," said Nakayama, "though...early reports are that we'll probably finish narrowly behind the Ultra Nintendo again, depending on how well the Virtua Fighter 4 bundle performs."
Fils-Aime groaned quietly under his breath. Though the Katana was hardly a failure, the fact that the system couldn't get over the Ultra Nintendo hump was discouraging, and with the Xbox release coming in November, there was no guarantee that Christmas would put the Katana over the top if next-gen system sales were split between the two consoles.
"We need a new approach," said Fils-Aime. "Games like NiGHTS are doing well. Commander Keen did well. We've got Spare Parts 2 coming out, that Monkey Ball game looks fun, Aerio could do well...I think we really need to try and position the Katana as the family system. Xbox is going to be riding on games like Grand Theft Auto and The Covenant. Violent games, for adults. In the current political climate, maybe that's not a winning strategy."
"Hmm...and the big Virtua Fighter 4 push? That's hardly a family game."
"Well, it's not Mortal Kombat," Fils-Aime replied with a laugh. "I'm talking about for the holidays. Maybe we start in October? With Aerio?"
Nakayama looked deep in thought. It was a risky move, but one Sega had made before in early 1999, around the time Zodiac World was released. The system had gotten a decent sales bump marketing to families, but that bump had petered out by the time Sonic the Hedgehog 5 was released, and after that game failed to move the hardware needle like it was supposed to, the "family friendly Sega" initiative was discarded. But maybe that was just because the Saturn was in decline anyway. Maybe if Sega returned to pushing family friendly content, it would stick this time.
"We're competing with the Xbox, not with Nintendo. This Christmas, people are going to be buying the next-gen systems. If we can capture a majority of those sales, a big majority, then not only can we get ahead of Nintendo, we've got a shot at knocking out the Xbox before it even gets off the ground. And we can ride that wave right through the release of Sonic Neon. Plus, it'd be good PR for us after what happened in Virginia."
"I think your plan could work but it will be up to my successor to see it through," said Nakayama. "Whoever the board decides to appoint."
"Okay then," replied Fils-Aime. "So now... let's talk Virtua Fighter 4. With two weeks left until the North American release, our marketing blitz is in full swing."
NiGHTS Into The Labyrinth... might have been the Katana's first killer app, but Virtua Fighter 4 would be its first real event release. Whether or not the Katana would be 2001's biggest gaming success story would rest in large part on the shoulders of the year's most anticipated fighting game.
Does anyone know exactly why the name was changed IOTL? All Wikipedia & SEGA Retro say is "copyright issues" but there aren't any details.
The writers at the U.S. version of the Official Dreamcast Magazine jokingly theorized that it was just so they could call their booth babes 'Jet Grind Girls'.
Sweet update, I like that NiGHTS is having an actual impact. I look forward to Sonic Neon (is that its actual title or just a development codename? Like Sonic and the Secret Rings was developed under the name Sonic Wildfire.)
If you want to butterfly 9/11, the quickest way to do is to have the FBI, CIA, and NSA share their intel right this minute (Aug. 13, '01); maybe have President Gore take a hardline stance against all the inter-agency pissing matches. They'll quickly figure out something's going down once they have all the pieces, and still have almost a month to stop it. I don't think it would take that long.
The writers at the U.S. version of the Official Dreamcast Magazine jokingly theorized that it was just so they could call their booth babes 'Jet Grind Girls'.
Sweet update, I like that NiGHTS is having an actual impact. I look forward to Sonic Neon (is that its actual title or just a development codename? Like Sonic and the Secret Rings was developed under the name Sonic Wildfire.)
If you want to butterfly 9/11, the quickest way to do is to have the FBI, CIA, and NSA share their intel right this minute (Aug. 13, '01); maybe have President Gore take a hardline stance against all the inter-agency pissing matches. They'll quickly figure out something's going down once they have all the pieces, and still have almost a month to stop it. I don't think it would take that long.
StarFox 3 sounds awesome; really looking forward to what you guys do with the 'Argonautverse'.
Aw maaaan, that sounded SOOOO cool! I don't think they ever had one in Orlando and (I had to look it up, because I'd never heard of the place) Brandon is clear over by Tampa. Even if they'd had one here, it probably would've been closed before I was old enough to really enjoy it anyway.
That would be soawesome(oh, wait, '90s) RAD!
If there had been one in Orlando, I could see similar stories about people hanging with people from the Nickelodeon shows they filmed at Universal.
EDIT: O_O OMG! Sorry about that everyone, Taco Bell's WiFi is $#!tting itself today! I wasn't getting any evidence that my post was going through; and when I switched the WiFi on my laptop off and back on again to see if it was just my connection I saw that not only did go through, it went through like ten times! It took me 15 minutes to delete the repeats on this slow connection. I think I'll just catch up on everything tonight at home.
Yeah, they only had about three Block Party locations IOTL. ITTL, with arcades hanging on longer thanks to Sega and with Blockbuster having more money thanks to their relationship with GameTV, they have the money and impetus to build about a dozen more. Some of them (like the OTL Albuquerque and Indianapolis ones, along with TTL locations in Los Angeles, Kansas City, and Seattle) are in cities proper, while others (in Brandon (Tampa), Littleton (Denver), Irving (Dallas), and Schaumberg (Chicago)), are in suburbs.
Sonic Neon is the actual name of the game. It's very bright and colorful!
And as it pertains to 9/11, no spoilers will be given on that until the actual update where something happens. Actually, we're going to bounce around a bit with some of the other big games of the summer before we head back to the real world (or even cover Virtua Fighter 4). Among the games we're going to cover before that are Chrono Infinite and a brand new FPS franchise called Load. In fact, Load is going to be the subject of the next update!
The new NiGHTS game sounds awesome! Man I wish I could have played it. As for that final level, I'm very curious, what are some outside opinions on it? I know the gaming community is holding it up as one of, if not the best levels in a video game ever, but how do others look at it?
Here's hoping it might have an effect on people who suffer the same problems as that poor child, that would be amazing if it could help real people as well.
Here's hoping it might have an effect on people who suffer the same problems as that poor child, that would be amazing if it could help real people as well.
It's one of those things that isn't acknowledged very much at the time by the mainstream gaming press. EGM, for example, gives the game a 9.5/10 but only mentions in passing that the game "has a surprising amount of pathos toward the end". It's mentioned a bit more in some of the online outlets, but is mostly something brought up by fans later on as something that deeply affected them.
Hope you find some way to save Joanie Laurer (aka Chyna) and waiting for more...
BTW, RySenkari, here's an article about Joanie's life (and death): http://thelab.bleacherreport.com/the-great-fall-of-chyna/ It's fairly interesting reading, if I do say so myself...
BTW, RySenkari, here's an article about Joanie's life (and death): http://thelab.bleacherreport.com/the-great-fall-of-chyna/ It's fairly interesting reading, if I do say so myself...
Crap, I didn't know she died! She's like, the third celebrity whose death I first learned about because someone on this site mentioned it.
What I already know is that after paying Bret, Hall, Nash, and Luger to come over to WWF for the Invasion, there's no way there'll be enough money to pay Chyna what she wants, so she'll probably leave in 2001 like IOTL.
With Chyna, it's certainly possible to save her (like with Kurt Cobain), but it's also possible that she could die much sooner than IOTL. It could go either way at the moment.
The surprising thing about that article about Chyna was that the Triple H/Stephanie/Chyna situation played a smaller role in Chyna's leaving than actually thought; the real reason (mostly) was that she wanted a base salary of one million dollars, which, frankly, was more than the WWF could afford to pay her while paying people like Austin, Rock, Undertaker, etc. in OTL (and keep in mind, the $400,000 offer would have been worth more with merchandise sales and other revenue streams, as the article points out). Chyna even admitted to her sister years later that she should have taken the offer. The WWF's not affording to pay Chyna would be even more true in TTL.
On a side note, it does make sense for Vince to reconcile with Bret sooner than OTL, especially with Owen still alive; even in OTL, after Owen Hart died, they had a conversation after Owen's funeral. If Bret avoided being kicked in the head by Goldberg (which ended his career due to the after-effects; it'd be pretty easy to butterfly that away) he'd still be around to wrestle; it's hard to make the Invasion worse than it was IOTL...
On a side note, it does make sense for Vince to reconcile with Bret sooner than OTL, especially with Owen still alive; even in OTL, after Owen Hart died, they had a conversation after Owen's funeral. If Bret avoided being kicked in the head by Goldberg (which ended his career due to the after-effects; it'd be pretty easy to butterfly that away) he'd still be around to wrestle; it's hard to make the Invasion worse than it was IOTL...
Bret avoided the Goldberg bump and will be a HUGE part of the Invasion, along with Nash and Hall. Others, like DDP, will play bigger roles than they did IOTL. The only thing preventing Sting from being part of the Invasion is a back injury suffered in late 2000 that he spends most of 2001 recovering from (though Sting would have asked for a LOT of money and would probably have prevented the signing of Nash and Hall).
We'll cover the full Invasion storyline in an update in early 2002. It absolutely turns out better than IOTL.
Rising child star who joined the cast of Zenon: Girl Of The 21st Century for season 3.
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