Samus Unwrapped... so to speak

Ah, the "Justin Bailey" code to Metroid. When we find out that Samus Aran was actually a hot lookin' girl.

So today I was browsing through a webcomic favorite of mine (Dueling Analogs) and I came across today's comic...



I began to wonder about the "hot girl" images you can find in the games (being the dirty old man I am) and so began to look for the elusive images for this babely video game figure's figure.

METROID-NES/FAMICOM
The Nintendo Famicom (the Japanese NES) had Metroid as a disk game. Yes, the whole game was on a floppy disk. So the elusive "Justin Bailey" code was ONLY in import games that didn't use a save-state as the disk did.

What is the Justin Bailey code? The Nintendo Famicom (the Japanese NES) released Metroid as a "floppy" disk game. Yes, the whole game was on a floppy disk. So the elusive "Justin Bailey" code was ONLY in non-Japanese games that didn't use a save-state as the disk did.

Who was Justin? Well nobody really knows for sure... it might be a fluke of the password code process, it might be a reference to an actual person... nobody really knows, and Nintendo ain't talking. All we know is that if you input the code, you get to play Samus in a purple leotard.



Well after this code there is another rumor that if you play fast enough and long enough into the game, she continues to remove clothing. This is a falsehood... especially with Nintendo of America's staunch conservative beliefs. I'm actually surprised that the leotard got through.

Now the endings were even special as well. This was quite the stretch again for Nintendo of America. Nintendo of Japan wouldn't have minded at all, but Japan is a completely different monster when it comes to showing skin. The first is for beating the game in under three hours. The second image for beating it in under 1 hour.



METROID II-GAMEBOY
The sequel that came out on the Gameboy handheld system even threw it's shoe into the fray with its own "special" ending.



SUPER METROID-SNES/SUPER FAMICOM
The Metroid go into the Super Nintendo realm kept the cheesecake factor as Samus, once again, would show some "skin" if you went through the game under three hours. She actually changes very fast and such work for under 3 seconds worth of virtual sexiness is a bit too much even for this dirty man.



METROID FUSION-GAMEBOY ADVANCE

With the Gameboy Advance system, Metroid Fusion (a very fun game if I may say so myself) went even further offering MANY different shots depending on how fast you completed the game. The main shot would stay the same, but the scan still-shot would be different. The main shot was the tight suit:


And if you beat the HARD MODE then you got these (with a special America only image shown last here):


WOW What a lot of images to put into a game! Those wacky... dirty... old men!

METROID ZERO MISSION-GAMEBOY ADVANCE
The second Gameboy Advance game featured even more sleek pics and the first inclusion of the now infamous Zero-Suit. Once again, the main picture was the same:


With the rest of the scroll-shots being different. You even got a gallery at the end to view them:


You can see how Samus has become a "cheesecake" icon while keeping her bad-ass-fighter demeanor.

The GameCube and Wii versions have taken out this semi-erotic feature. So now, they just show Samus changing into her Zero-Suit, but not in a sexy way. Why? I think they now are focusing on enjoying the game as much as possible and trying not to deal with people speeding through it to see a hot girl in a tiny swimsuit. It quickly becomes cliche, and a "Yawn, oh well" gimmick. That's my theory anyway. Take the endings from Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2, and Metroid Prime 3 and you'll catch my drift.



To me, METROID features Samus Aran in one of the rare instances where a powerful female character in video games keeps her femininity intact without being too overtly sexual. She is comfortable in her skin while not showing too much skin... especially as the games progressed.

Sure there are inevitably hentai and dojinshi comics that contradict this, but I believe that Nintendo has done well to keep her strength and beauty together in a non-degrading way. Unlike Laura Croft who from the game-get-go shows way too much T&A for a strong female character to show, Samus only gives you a PG glimpse and only to those who prove themselves "worthy".

Thanks to Wikipedia, Metroid Database, and Video Game Museum for the images borrowed.

Twilight Princess 49 hours 36 minutes

MAN! What a great game! And the ending? Stellar! Best ending of all the games!


So here I gush (spoiler warning!):

There is so much to say about the game that I really cannot express it without giving too much away... and much of the Zelda experience for ANY of the games is the surprise factor. But I will say this...

The Wii is the ONLY way to play this game. If you have a GameCube version then sell it AND your GameCube, sell some of your blood/plasma, take out a bank loan and get a Wii and this game.

Playing with the motion sensitive controller is so much fun and brings a whole new aspect to the game that would be lost if you played it on the GameCube. Your arms do not get tired. Trust me. Well, fighting Gannondorf last night really did make my hand ache... SHEESH! I just wanted to yell out "WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!?!"

And then came the best part of the game: the ending. I love Zelda endings, and this one did not disappoint. "Midna" was fantastic.

The graphics rocked and the storyline was deeply involved. I plan on going back and finding everything I missed.

I give it 5 farewell Warios.


So now, I say goodbye to my original quest to play all the Zelda games before I played "Twilight Princess". What have I taken from this experience? Have I gotten anything out of this other than a good time playing video games? I think I actually have!

I have learned to think in new ways when playing games and when tackling obstacles. My eye has been sharpened to look for things that I may have missed. I have gotten a new appreciation for the stories Nintendo tells. Sure, that may seem fanboy-ish, but these games have a story to tell and they tell them (for the most part) well.

Link, Zelda, and Gannon have a link to each other and it's always exciting to see the climax when you play. You begin to care about these characters and look forward to seeing them again even if the plotline is to "rescue Princess Zelda". The Legend of Zelda games will always hold a place in my heart now as I go forward in my gaming... and I'll always look forward to the next Zelda game.

What is to come for my future gaming? Who knows? But it will not be as exciting and as enjoyable as my experiences in Hyrule.

Show Your Stash

So I finally took recent pictures of my whole "C.H.E.E.T. Museum" collection.

View it HERE.

Twilight Princess 44 hours 55 minutes

This game is more vast than I could have hoped for. It's wonderful and fun. I just got the last piece of the mirror and am on my way to the desert to get it set in. I don't know how close I am getting, but I am not intending to rush it.

Halloween 2007

Well, another Halloween has come and gone and I am happy. I didn't "BUILD" a costume this year, but I did make a 'Mario' costume. But don't fret... under THIS hat...


... was my REAL hat!

The Mario Monologues Part 1: Donkey Kong

Last night in Denver I performed at the 'Freak Train'. I did a thing called the "Mario Monologues". It was a hit. I had people telling me all night "Thank you, Mario". It was fun.

Last night: Donkey Kong
Next month: Mario Bros.

Resident Evil / Twilight Princess 25:27

Continuing in the sries of Horror Survival games, I pick up Resident Evil. Produced in 1996 it was called "Biohazard" in Japan. This game has been ported and adapted for many different systems. Tonight I play the "superior" GameCube version that not only has better graphics than the Playstation version, but new areas. Many have considered this version to be the best of them all, so this is the one I will play.

Plays Game

Ok. I can only go 50 minutes before I have to turn on a light... (GOOD LORD, I'm a WUSS!) but then, in the light, it quickly becomes not scary anymore.

Much like last week's 'Silent Hill', this game really makes good use of music and camera angles. It's scarier right off the bat from Silent Hill in that it is deadly right off the bat. I died several times here just trying to get a friggin' gun!

The graphics in this were also a major scare factor in that they make good use of the GameCube's processing power. The action doesn't slow down and you feel yourself falling into the game headlong.

When attacked, you don't know if the baddie is going to stay down or what. There are fewer power-ups (I found shotgun shells, but no shotgun), and a limited inventory (that blew big time too). But all of this makes the game SO challenging it's not even funny... and I chose the easy setting!

Buy it. That's all I can say. Buy it, go into a dark room, make sure there are no outside noises to distract you, and play away. Scares-ville, daddio!



On the Zelda side, I am really enjoying this game. Not only is the story interesting and the characters intriguing, but I love the controls of the game. I can't imagine how you would play it on the GameCube with a normal controller... you WANT to swing your sword!

I have gotten the Master Sword, the ability to switch from Link to the wolf, and I have just defeated the long desert dungeon (but just). This game is SO much fun... but I fear it will be long if I let it be... but I want to play this game at my leisure... so I don't want to rush.

I know this is old... but MAN is it funny!

I'll post the horror game tonight along with the Zelda progress too. Got lots done during my week off.

Silent Hill

So here I go to the next platform up from the SNES (and since the N64 had no real horror games for it) I pick up the Playstation 1 classic (borrowed from a friend) Silent Hill.

This bad-boy came out in 1999 and scared a lot of people. Heck, even just booting it up it states that it has some disturbing scenes in it. I'm sort of excited. It is one of the games that, even though produced by Konami, it came out in the USA before it was released in Japan.

(plays game)

Ok. 1 hour and 27 minutes into the game I have to stop. If I want to be able to have a restful sleep tonight and NOT have nightmares, then I have to stop.
This game scared the PI$$ outta me!

I start off the game and am not scared. At all. It's a little jumpy to have things pop out at me so quickly, but it's not scary. Though the skinless dogs do kinda' creep me out a bit.

I search for three keys to make my way through to the school and I begin to LOVE the map system in this game as it marks things for you so that you remember what is at certain places and where you are.

The moving system is a bit strange to get used to at first. One really needs to use an analog controller just so that you can have an easier time walking about... and so you can know when you are hurt (as the analog controller makes a "heartbeat" in your hand when hurt... which is creepy in and of its self).

So, when did I start to get scared? When I got to the school... and saw the kids... or monkeys... or whatever the frack they were! Good lawdy, they scared me! And the worser part was when they didn't die after they fell down from shooting. You have to put one more bullet in them to kill them all the way.

That, along with being in the dark, AND having the house creaking on me for some reason tonight, made for a really spooky game. I got the gold medallion from the waxy hand in the school, but then I saved the game in the Nurse's office and turned the game off.

This was the first game that I have been REALLY spooked. I'm probably not going to play this game in the dark again... (EVER)... but I would like to play it some more and try to get one of the many endings... see how I do.

But not tonight! SHEESH!

I am a super hero! I defeated... the highest bidder!

Yup, I got a screaming deal on a Twin Famicom and games. I shopped victoriously!

Scary video game review tomorrow of Silent Hill for the PS1.

Clock Tower: The First Fear

Tonight I went to the next platform up from the Famicom/NES... the Super Famicom/SNES! (please forgive my lack of reporting skills)

Clock Tower The First Fear was never released in the US and it's a shame because it's one of the better SNES games out there. Yes indeed. Tonight I am using my SNES USB controller that I got from RetroZone... and the emulated game translated in English that I got from DGEmu.com.

So I turn off the lights and sit through a pretty eerie introduction scene. I talk to all the girls twice and begin to play.


(PLAYS GAME)

Ok. MUCH creepier than last week's 'Sweet Home' by FAR! It's not pee your pants scary... it's more like a scary story that's being told while camping out scary.

There are some scenes that I had to go back through (because I died) that certain things didn't happen again. The first time through, I looked at the weird painting in the background here (just after I turned on the TV)... and the eyes started to bleed. I didn't notice it until I was walking out the door... and it was pretty spooky.

The second time through, nothing.

So with things that can or won't appear at times, that makes for a pretty good spook-factor in my book. Good replay value as you're gonna need it. You can continue, but you can also start over and try different things.

Playing in the dark REALLY gave me shudders at times. I know I jumped more than once and really felt like I had no idea what to do next. Then something would happen and I jump again!

It's really a shame that this game never saw the light of day in the USA because it would have been very popular. But this was also the time they (Nintendo) didn't want to show blood... and there's a lot of deaths in this game... I mean, all your friends are dying left and right!


I will definitely be playing this game again (in the dark) as the 16 bit graphics won't scare you otherwise. The soundtrack that turns on and off is fantastic as I forget it's there and then it startles me by turning back on.

But you can't go out and get an FAQ... if you know where the scares are going to come from then it won't be scary... or as much fun. This is a fun game. Also, see if you can make the emulator full screen... or at least big. The bigger the spookier.

The controls were a bit tough to get used to... and I really got frustrated at time trying to figure out how to use items you collect (A button, select item, then click on where you want to use it). Having it not gory was a plus, and I felt bad for the character when I didn't make the right decision and she got killed.

Great game, folks. Definitely get it and play it. A fun and not too scary Halloween game.

Legend of Zelda Timeline??

Twilight Princess: 5 hours 47 minutes

You know, My friend Eric really didn't like this game, but I am digging the crap out of it!

The Wiimote controls are almost like the N64 controls, the graphics are wonderful, and the storyline kicks arse. I just got the first bit of armour from the forest dungeon... and I only have 4 and 4/5 hearts... just got the boomerang... and the boss was pretty darn easy. That's making this game feel like it's gonna take quite some time, but all-in-all I really like it.

Here's hoping the rest of the game is just as fun.

The Minish Cap Quest was a Success!

I beat it! No really, I did. Click the image to see one of the closing credit screens (kind'a dark, but it's there). This game doesn't say "The End" so, it was nerve racking to get a picture... especially at 11:35pm. So official time was 23 hours and 4 minutes.


How do I feel about this game? Right off the bat I liked the humor and how it reminded me of Wind Waker. I really liked the searching for holes and ways to get through cracks... that feature was lots of fun. BUT (and this is a big but) I hated how it took forever to advance to a place JUST BECAUSE you had to trigger an event. And with events maybe activating after a dungeon or from talking to a Picori on the other side of the world... that was greatly annoying.

The game engine was tight... but to tell the truth (compared to all the other games) the ending was too easy. I really hate saying that because I really hate it when other people say that about games... it makes them sound smug. For me (who just finished all but the most recent two Zelda games) the ending could have been a bit tougher. In fact all the bosses were easier than I had anticipated. Which was ok... I really hate tough games that are tough just to be tough (koff)majorasmask(koff), but to defeat the enemies was just to wait them out and attack when you can. It's a good game, but I really think a line of code or two could have made it better.

The figurines were a great add-on and I enjoyed collecting them... but I wish I could have looked at them at any time from the menu.

But I still liked it. A lot.

So, for a really interesting game that I wouldn't mind finding all the hidden things... but despise the searching around the whole game world to talk to one character to open the friggin' library... I give Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap four Picori Warios.


Onward ho... to the game that I have been waiting most of a year (literally) to play... and ignoring/avoiding all information about the storyline and gameplay: Twilight Princess on the Wii!

SWEET HOME

So I begin my month of horror video games by going to the first ever horror game: Sweet Home. The idea is not to finish the games, but to rate them on scaryness.

Now, I hate scary movies (rarely see them) and I have not played any scary games... but this is October and I am feeling very brave as of late... and it seemed a fun way to pass the time since I'm not working on a big costume this year. My value of how scared I get may be MUCH different than yours, so I will try to be very specific when I rate them.

I'll also try to record myself playing them, but since it's in the dark (and me with a normal digital cam-corder) it might be tough. But I'll only include the parts that made me jump so you can see my expression.



Now I have actually had this particular game cartridge since 1990 (when I started collecting import games) but I never played it (having, at the time, no ability to read Japanese). This time I can read Japanese but I am going to play it in English on an emulator. I couldn't find a good download for the English patch so I went to DGEmu.com and found it no sweat.

And I'm using an official NES controller via the USB adapter that I bought from RetroZone.

Come to find out that there was a movie released at the same time in the theatres... and it seems that they were based on each other rather than one coming first. If you would like to buy the movie, my "sources for obscure movies" found it for sale, but I'll just play the game for right now. You can also watch a strange shot-by-shot synopsis here. I have not yet gone through this yet as I don't want to have "spoilers".

So, in the words of Arino-sama: "Kachou ON!"

(plays game)

The scariest thing that happened this evening was when my dog "Kitty" started howling out of loneliness upstairs. All the lights were out in the house, I was downstairs, Jen was out... and halfway through my gameplay she starts howling out her sadness...

Bit creepy that.

But as far as the game goes, I was more jumpy by the unexpected things that happen during the game like the falling chandeliers and flying chairs that come out of nowhere. It is a bit frustrating to get anything done as you're constantly switching characters... but since each character has their own "item" then it makes it more challenging. And the barrage of powerful monsters that attack you from the get-go... and keep occurring and occurring...

The frescoes that you're supposed to find looked pretty spooky I guess... but there was this evil doll that popped out of nowhere and gave me a jump. I personally hate dolls. But I really wasn't scared per-se... by any of the game. Perhaps I'm just jaded by the graphics and CD quality of the games today... but to tell you the truth, it was a pretty groovy RPG as RPGs go. There's really no way to heal your HP and so you have to be very careful how you proceed. That's tough. There's interesting puzzles and hidden items.

Very much like the board game Arkham Horror where stuff just keeps popping up and you don't have time to think... that's what 'Sweet Home' is like.

You can definitely tell how the company tried to think of what might be spooky in a game and how they tried to make it so with the fade-ins. This was a brand new genre and the NES pulled it off well and I think that they were the only ones who could do it in the time of 8-bit games.

My suggestion: if you have a NES emulator, play this game. It's pretty good. It's not gonna scare the pants off of you, but it will be a good RPG with interesting horror aspects. Try it out.

I couldn't get the video camera working correctly for this week, so perhaps for next week.

Next week I'm going to mix things up by playing Clock Tower: The First Fear for the SNES... since it will show how horror games progressed from 8-bit to 16 bit. Then, the following week, I will play Resident Evil Code Veronica.

Minish Cap: 15 hours 56 minutes

This game is going FAST.

I have 14 hearts and am almost through to the Wind element. Unfortunately I have been... collecting figurines.

So sue me. I'm a collector.

Tomorrow I start my month of horror.
Also, tomorrow Phantom Hourglass comes out... but I'm not plying/buying it until I'm done with Twilight Princess.

Otherwise, I'm kinda' liking Minish Cap... for all the looking around I'm doing. Seriously... it's WORSE than the first Zelda. I think 6 hours have been JUST looking.