The Nintendo Report: Bikes, Moles, and Metroids

Welcome again to The Nintendo Report! We’re working our approach by means of Nintendo’s IP to find out how wholesome all of them are. Now that we’ve gotten Mario’s numerous sub-series out of the way in which, it’s time to give attention to Nintendo’s non-Mario M video games. How are they doing? Let’s discover out in The Nintendo Report.

Mach Rider

Let’s kick issues off with Mach Rider, fairly presumably the strangest black field NES recreation of all of them. Why is it unusual? As a result of it’s tonally so very totally different from Nintendo’s regular tasks. Mach Rider is a post-apocalyptic racing/shooter the place you’re taking management of a mean-looking bike rider and blow up “Quadrunners,” an evil invading alien power, within the 12 months 2112. It was developed by HAL, and theoretically featured an analogous twist to Metroid the place the protagonist may be revealed to be a girl? It’s bizarre and actually, all a bit complicated. 

Well being ranking: Principally lifeless

Mach Rider hasn’t been heard from in ages, outdoors of the occasional Digital Console or NSO launch. The character didn’t even make it into Smash Bros. as something greater than a trophy. It’s an odd omission from Nintendo’s fashionable library although, due to how totally different it’s from their regular fare. This property appeared completely suited to revival again within the 2000’s when every little thing wanted to be violent and edgy to be thought-about cool. However alas, plainly Mach Rider is caught squarely up to now.   

Magical Starsign

Again in 2001, developer Brownie Brown created an enthralling, but by-the-numbers RPG referred to as Magical Trip for the Recreation Boy Advance. Nintendo printed it, but it surely was solely ever launched in Japan. It instructed the story of a pupil who attended the magic college Will-o’-Wisp. When the scholars went on a area journey to Valencia Seashore, an space the place a number of college students had been reported lacking (makes you marvel why the college despatched them there anyway) he and his buddies obtained caught up in a magical journey. Enjoyable! 

Well being ranking: Principally lifeless

Regardless that Magical Trip by no means noticed launch outdoors of Japan, its followup on the Nintendo DS did. It was referred to as Magical Starsign, and it was fairly good. Opinions had been stable, and the sport appears to have bought no less than fairly properly, because it isn’t precisely laborious to search out at this time. It didn’t actually catch on, although, and it appears the collection died with this one. Brownie Brown turned 1-Up Studio again in 2013, and has labored on quite a few tasks for Nintendo since, together with Mom 3 and Ring Match Journey, so it’s not solely out of the realm of prospects that this collection might see a revival sometime if somebody on the firm actually pushes for it, however I feel we’ve seen the final of it. 

Magnetica

Also called Puzz Loop in Japan, Magnetica is a coloration matching puzzle recreation about marbles that was created by Mitchell Company again in 1998. They launched it as an arcade recreation, and the collection has seen releases on all method of platforms together with the PlayStation, and even the Nuon. However round 2004, Mitchell Corp began completely making video games for Nintendo platforms, together with what turned Magnetica, which I suppose technically makes it a Nintendo property? 

Well being ranking: Principally lifeless

It’s laborious to find out the standing of this one as a result of whereas Nintendo printed Magnetica and its comply with ups, Mitchell Corp went beneath in 2012. Magnetica Twist launched on WiiWare, which was principally a multiplayer model of the primary Magnetica, and that was adopted up by Tokyo Crash Mobs in 2013, which is totally bonkers. It makes use of the identical fundamental gameplay of Magnetica, however as an alternative of marbles, it makes use of reside motion actors positioned in numerous weird conditions. It’s one other WiiWare recreation, which implies nearly no one has heard of it, not to mention really performed it. With over a decade of silence, I feel Magnetica is toast. 

Grasp of Phantasm

The Nintendo DS period was chock filled with firms actually considering outdoors the field when it got here to creating video games. Grasp of Phantasm was a kind of wacky video games, and it was all about instructing the fundamentals of magic. It got here with a deck of playing cards, and used minigames and tutorials to instruct gamers on how one can do rudimentary methods. 

Well being ranking: Principally lifeless

Grasp of Phantasm was finally damaged up right into a collection of mini video games as DSiWare. They even made a handful of latest methods to be taught for these releases, however as with nearly all issues DSiWare, it didn’t actually appear to maneuver the needle by way of gross sales. It was a neat experiment, however one I doubt Nintendo shall be revisiting once more. 

Metroid

I’ve to imagine that should you’re right here, Metroid wants no introduction. It’s one in all Nintendo’s premiere franchises, and whereas it’s by no means reached the gross sales success it in all probability deserves, it’s nonetheless a mainstay with a fairly large fanbase. It is an exploratory motion collection starring intergalactic bounty hunter Samus Aran and her exploits throughout the galaxy, sometimes involving parasitic creatures referred to as Metroids, in addition to quite a few house pirates, together with an excellent cool dragon named Ridley. It made waves within the 80s for that includes a feminine protagonist, a reality that would solely be uncovered by beating the sport inside a sure period of time, and it’s endured for many years since. 

Well being ranking: Nice

It makes me so joyful to know that Metroid is in completely no hazard in the mean time. In actual fact, the Change technology has been one of many collection finest. After hitting some fairly laborious occasions for some time there, Metroid got here again in an enormous approach beginning with Samus Returns on 3DS. It didn’t promote extraordinarily properly, but it surely labored as a proving floor for developer Mercury Steam. They went forward and completed the legendary Metroid Dread, which went on to be top-of-the-line promoting titles within the franchise. Then there’s the Metroid Prime video games. These are the 3D entries which debuted on Gamecube. The unique recreation was remastered on Change to terrific outcomes, and the lengthy awaited Metroid Prime 4 seems to lastly be reaching the tip of its lengthy improvement cycle. Metroid isn’t going anyplace, and the gaming world is all the higher for it. 

Mii/Wii

Okay, this class’s a bit nebulous. This one’s going to encapsulate all of the video games which can be particularly centered round Mii characters, excluding Wii Sports activities, for the reason that latest recreation in that collection incorporates Miis, however they aren’t precisely the main target. Anyway, let’s speak about Miis. These are digital avatars that got here into being when the Wii launched. Principally they had been system-level create-a-characters that would then be utilized in quite a few video games. There was Wii Music, Wii Match, Miitopia, a bunch of Streetpass video games on 3DS, and so they even discovered their approach into different current franchises like Pilotwings and Mario Kart. 

Well being ranking: Exhausting to Say

The factor with Miis is that their video games are largely accomplished. Miis themselves are nonetheless in use, however nothing new centered round them particularly appears to be occurring anymore. In addition they aren’t actually used on a system degree the way in which they had been on Wii, Wii U and 3DS. Miitopia was ported to Change in 2021, which included a massively expanded Mii creator that type of made it look like we had been going to get one thing new Mii-related sooner or later, but it surely’s been fairly quiet ever since. Wii Celebration and Wii Match obtained sequels on Wii U, however these collection appeared to finish there, Wii Music was one and accomplished, and as soon as Road Move closed down, these video games had been gone eternally as properly. The one factor shut was Wii Sports activities, however like I stated, that appears to have morphed into its personal factor, which we’ll cowl with the letter S. Miis are a thriller. Err… Miistery…

Mole Mania

Mole Mania was a Miyamoto recreation for the unique Recreation Boy that wasn’t solely dissimilar to Portal in some respects. It’s an motion puzzle recreation the place you’re taking management of Muddy Mole, digging holes between the overground and underground. These mean you can swap between the 2 distinct areas at will, fixing more and more difficult puzzles alongside the way in which. 

Well being ranking: Principally lifeless

Mole Mania has the excellence of being on the quick record of Miyamoto video games that by no means caught on. The truth that it was launched fairly late within the Recreation Boy’s life in all probability didn’t assist issues a lot both. It’s a disgrace, as a result of it’s really a fairly enjoyable recreation. So far as I do know, the one time it’s been re-released up to now was on the 3DS Digital Console. Fingers crossed it finds its approach to Nintendo Change On-line quickly. I’d like to see a followup, or perhaps a remake because the mechanics within the recreation are nice, but it surely might in all probability profit from some fashionable high quality of life enhancements. However for now, I’m not precisely hopeful. 

And that about wraps it up. I wished to incorporate Thriller Case Information and Meteos in there, but it surely turned fairly clear fairly fast that simply because Nintendo printed entries in these collection, they nearly actually don’t personal them. Regardless, they in all probability would not have moved the needle in any approach. What a catastrophe this one was! Metroid’s wholesome as an ox, Miis are technically nonetheless on the market, and every little thing is principally lifeless. Not an amazing state of affairs for the non-Mario M’s. 

Be a part of us subsequent time for the letter N. It’s a shorter record to make certain, however perhaps we’ll discover some video games which can be a bit extra wholesome than this lot.