Another Mario review, and this one might just be the most underrated game in the series…

Yes, this gem of a game for the GameCube – Super Mario Sunshine. In my opinion, it’s very overlooked and underrated by even the most hardcore of  Mario gamers. (Though the game did sell 5.5 million copies…) It is bright and colorful, but best of all, it has that classic Mario platforming style – with a twist. Instead of just running and jumping around various levels, you have to use  your water pack (FLUDD) to reach new heights, obtain certain objects and overcome obstacles. Along the way, you must clean up Isle Delfino where a mysterious Mario-like entity has vandalized every inch of the once-beautiful tourist trap. It’s been compared to Super Mario 64, and often these comparisons rule in favor of the genre-defining N64 classic. Not to say Mario 64 is bad, bu it’s really too bad that a game this good is overlooked. Come on, it’s a freaking Mario game! One of my favorites, without a doubt. I give this game a 9/10 because even though it is wonderful and every self-respecting Nintendo geek should get the chance to play it, Super Mario Galaxy remains the better game. (I still love you Sunshine!)

And as a bonus, here’s a recent review of the game done by MN12BIRD:

Direct from the Big N itself, here are some screenshots of Metroid Prime Trilogy, available August 24.

With New Play Control!, you were promised remakes of Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes for the Wii, enhanced with motion controls. That’s nothing new to hardcore Nintendo fans. What came as a surprise was the sudden announcement that all 3 games will be re-packaged on to one disc – Metroid Prime Trilogy, coming August 24 of this year.

The games will be mostly unchanged besides the obvious control revamp. Kotaku noted some minor tweaks in their preview, including faster load times, doors will now open quicker, extra bloom lighting (woohoo!), a16:9 widescreen resolution and the extra air-gaining ball jump trick from MP3 is now available in Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2. Also, you can unlock some neat extras by accomplishing tasks across all 3 games. These prizes include music, artwork, and even a Mii bobblehead for Samus’ ship.

Better yet, the entire collection will retail for only $49.99. For those who missed out on these games, this is a great deal, considering that MP3 goes for the same price by itself.

[Kotaku and Nintendo Press Room]

Remember the lawsuit filed against Nintendo by Fenner Investments, claiming that the Wii, its controllers and even the GameCube’s controller violated a few of their patents? Turns out that they didn’t, so a U.S. District Court judge dismissed the case. Here’s what NOA’s Senior Vice President had to say about the outcome:

“We are very pleased with the court’s decision,” said Rick Flamm, Nintendo of America’s Senior Vice President, Legal & General Counsel. “Nintendo has a long history of developing innovative products while respecting the intellectual property rights of others. We also vigorously defend patent lawsuits when we firmly believe that we have not infringed another party’s patent, despite the risks that this policy entails. I would like to express our sincere appreciation for the tireless efforts of our legal team, which represented us so well.”

[via Nintendo Press Room]

But I liked the GameCube, Shiggy!

During an interview with Famitsu, father of Mario and Zelda Shigeru Miyamoto expressed his true feelings about the GameCube era. We all know that it wasn’t the most successful time in Nintendo’s history, but many fans still recognize games like Super Mario Sunshine and Metroid Prime as examples of great GameCube games and even the best of the last generation. I agree, the GCN is my favorite Nintendo console because it was my first, and since it has games that I still enjoy to this day like Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Luigi’s Mansion. In fact, I still play Mario Party 6 everyday (my younger sister can’t get enough of it.)

The reason he gives for calling the GameCube a “dilemma” is because he was “fascinated with 3D worlds” which improved the GCN’s tech specs to that of the competition, which meant that Nintendo had shifted focus and was really trying to compete instead of focusing on what he intended – the casual market and non-gamers.

Nintendo started to change focus when they started the Classic NES series on the GBA. “We thought about starting over from scratch and aiming for games that can be played by people who don’t play games, [and] we did some research, and the result was the Classic NES series.”

[via 1UP]