The Ocarina of Time manga

If you consider yourself a fan of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, you may enjoy the manga adaptation made by Akira Himekawa and endorsed by Nintendo. With a game hailed as one of the greatest of all time, setting a template for many games to come, one might wonder: exactly what could such a comic bring to the table?

The answer, as with much manga source material, is dialogue and backstory -- though unlike, say, novels, you don't get the same depth and details that a book can offer. So to save you the trouble, I thought I'd summarize those additional details here (though if you're interested, you can always go to your local bookseller and pick up your own copy).

Note: The manga did take some artistic liberties with some plot points. I chose to include those that weren't blatant contradictions to the plot of the game. As you proceed, think of the points below as a summary of "deleted scenes."

Warning: Spoilers to follow.

BACKSTORY

• Link's mother, having fled a burning village, ultimately collapses in front of the Great Deku Tree, imploring him to take care of her newborn son.
• Gohma, in desperate search of the Kokiri Emerald, curses the Great Deku Tree, urging him to summon the young boy.

CHILD SAGA

• The antagonistic Mido (armed with the Kokiri Sword and intent on earning Saria's affection) accompanies Link (with the Fairy Slingshot) in exploring the Great Deku Tree. After Link defeats Gohma, Mido offers the Kokiri Sword to Link (in addition to Saria giving the Fairy Ocarina) to aid him on his quest.
• In Castle Town, Link meets a young girl (not unlike Malon) who offers to show him the way to the princess if he plays with her for the day. They go around playing games, shopping, and exploring. At the end of the day, two Gerudo thieves attack the young girl. Link fends them off, but when they flee, he loses track of her. Disappointed, he follows her earlier directions and sneask into the castle courtyard. There he discovers the girl is none other than Princess Zelda.
• Before sending Link off, Zelda gives a blushing Link a kiss on the cheek. Navi begins teasing him about his ladies throughout his adventure.
• While loitering about Kakariko Village, Link rescues a baby dragon Volvagia, which learns to say his name. 
• When Link finds Ruto, she reveals that she ran away because her father was arranging for her to marry another Zora. After rescuing her from Jabu Jabu's belly, Link laments about how his father figure (The Great Deku Tree) passed away. Touched, she offers her sapphire, and informs him that is now her fiancé (which Link doesn't understand).
• Once Link returns to a burning Hyrule castle, Impa flees will Zelda, who tosses the Ocarina of Time. Startled by a threatening Ganondorf, Link drops his Fairy Ocarina which Ganondorf recovers, mistaking it for the Ocarina of Time. Link proceeds to the Temple of Time, where he awakens seven years in the future.
• Later we see Ganondorf crushing the Fairy Ocarina, enraged for having been tricked by the young boy.

ADULT SAGA

• Following the time skip, a defeated Stalfos spirit communicates to Ganondorf, revealing that the Hero of Time has shown himself.
• Deep within the Fire Temple, Link confronts Volvagia, his pet dragon from childhood. He hesitates to slay the dragon and Sheik steps in to save him. When Link regains consciousness, Sheik motivates him to confront Volvagia again. During the second fight, Link tries to get through to Volvagia to no avail. But when he slays the dragon, it softly utters his name before dying in front of a devastated Link.
• We then see Sheik kneeling in front of Ganondorf, revealing the details of the most recent battle. Sheik tells Ganondorf about Link's low spirits and advises that he should strike now. Ganondorf also inquires about Sheik's search for Zelda, reminding that Link and Zelda must not find each other.
• Link travels to Kakariko Village where Impa confronts him and subsequently scolds him for traveling so far without proper supplies. Link appeals to Impa so that she may train him to become a better fighter, and the two train for several days.
• While drinking from the Kakariko Village well, a black shadow materializes as Dark Link and challenges him to see how strong he's become.
• Following his battle and the completion of his training, Impa proudly pierces Link's ears and presents him with earrings as part of a coming-of-age ritual.
• In Ganon's Castle, Ingo apologizes to Ganondorf for losing Epona. As punishment, Twinrova brainwash the ranch worker, and Ganondorf commands him to go back and defeat the Hero of Time. He also tells Sheik, also present, to go with him and questions why a Sheikah would serve him and not the Royal Family as the tribe had in the past. Sheik simply reveals the tribe had no leader until Ganondorf came and leaves.
• Following the brawl with Ingo and Malon's rescue at Lon Lon Ranch, Link, resting on a rooftop, gets approached by Sheik, who instructs him to go to the Haunted Wasteland to search for Zelda. Sheik disappears before Gerudo show up. Link destroys the cursed jewel that keeps Ingo spellbound. After holding off the Gerudo for a bit with help from Malon (and her pitchfork), the two ride Epona and leap over the fence to escape the ranch.
• The Water Temple battle suggests that Ruto was acquainted with Morpha, the temple boss.
• Arriving disguised in Gerudo village, Link gathers supplies. At an open shop, a disguised Twinrova catch his attention and tell him to find his destiny at the Spirit Temple. After he leaves, Sheik arrives, who they tell to follow him. However, they question whether Sheik is secretly aiding the Hero of Time, which Sheik denies.
• Once Sheik departs, Twinrova summon Nabooru to help Sheik and determine if he is a traitor.
• During a sandstorm in the Haunted Wasteland, Sheik rescues Link and offers to guide him through the rest of the way to the temple. While traveling and setting up camp, the two have conversation which reveal several details.
• When Link inquires about the eye symbol on the outfit, Sheik reveals the eye was originally the symbol of the Sheikah, but they added the tear when the Royal Family betrayed them. Link asks if Sheik still bears a grudge, which Sheik denies. Link explains his story and discovery of being the Hero of Time. From his perspective, he just left Zelda, but he wonders how the years have changed her and feels uneasy to see her again. Sheik attempts to confort Link and dismisses it, saying it's hard to be a hero.
• Link has a nightmare about fighting off an army of Stalfos and upon waking up, Sheik reveals that in the Haunted Wasteland phantoms prey on travelers during the night. In the morning, a Gerudo party surround Link. Distracted, Link gets knocked out by Sheik and awakens unarmed in a Gerudo prison within the Gerudo Fortress.
• Following the fight with Nabooru, he flees from Gerudo guards and encounters Sheik blocking his path, holding his Master Sword and Hylian Shield. Throwing the weapons forth to Link, Sheik signals the desire to duel. As Link prepares to battle, Sheik instead turns on Twinrova behind him and then flees with Link. Twinrova pursue them and delivers a near fatal magic blow to Sheik. While trying to help an unconscious Sheik, Link notices the crest on Sheik's hand. Together, Link and a rescued Nabooru fend off the other Gerudo, allowing Link to escape on horse with Sheik.
• When Sheik reveals himself as Zelda, Link learns Zelda's backstory. While on the run, Zelda decided to disguise herself as one of Ganondorf's male minions until Link returned. Impa made her appear as a Sheikah descendant. They share their tender moment, but Ganondorf then captures Zelda, revealing how she let her guard down but he knew she would appear if he let the hero wander around.
• Following the final battle and reunion with Zelda, Link wants to stay with her and rebuild Hyrule. She says she must send him back and close the gateway between them. Link argues he fought for her, not because he was drawn to conflict, but she asserts that this time period doesn't need a hero and he needs to return to the forest. Link kneels and vows that he will protect her and Hyrule no matter the time nor place. As Link ascends to the sky, Zelda says her goodbye and tells him: "I love you."

So there you have it. With this, either you'll be inspired to read the manga or go on knowing the additional backstory. It's too bad none of this made the game, as I think some of these details really add depth to the characters (though I question some of the manga's awkward choice in presenting the details).

Did I miss anything? Leave a comment!

Source: Zelda Informer

What Skyward Sword could have done better

After 50 hours, I finally beat the main quest of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. The much anticipated latest chapter of the Zelda series fails to disappoint, further supported by the universal acclaim.

• Edge: 10/10 
• Eurogamer: 10/10
• Game Informer: 10/10
• Guardian: 5/5
• IGN: 10/10
• Nintendo World Report: 10/10
• Telegraph: 5/5
• Wired: 10/10

Like A Link To The Past and The Ocarina of Time, this game finally sees a true major revision to the series, this time with [highly-approximated] 1-to-1 motion controls (Note: I consider that the intermediate games, including Wind Waker [WW] and Twilight Princess [TP], simply introduced minor revisions to the OoT engine and framework).

Rather than rave about what this game did right (you can read that just about anywhere), I thought I'd focus on what it did differently and what it could have done better. However, unlike websites that have offered trivial complaints (Really? You're upset with an adventure RPG with fetch quests?), I'll offer the perspective of a Nintendo gamer that has seen how the series has progressed, as opposed to a critical industry reviewer that expects more of a game in the high-definition age.

---

First, here is a recap of five complaints I don't think were well-warranted:

1. The game has too many fetch quests. That's a pretty big staple of role-playing games, and it's through this sort of exploration that you learn about the environment. True, at times it can be a bit annoying to realize 'I'm done. Oh wait, but there's more', but in the grand scheme, that's the idea behind dungeons, only through interaction with non-player characters (NPCs) and their environments.

2. Too much revisiting past areas. One of the recurring comments I've read is that the game is 'dense'. Before playing, I didn't quite get what that meant, but it gradually made sense to me. One aspect is that each area has multiple sections and requires multiple trips, but each time you learn find something new, either discovering uncharted territory or having the environment manipulated in some way (I'll get into other aspects of its 'density' in a bit)

3. Not enough open areas. Some might call that lazy; I call that genius. Instead of the sprawling, empty environments of WW or TP, you have compact, busy environments with lots to do and directions to go (compare this to, say, Final Fantasy XIII's long, linear pathways). It really takes the game into three dimensions as you explore areas vertically. Though I miss the openness of Hyrule Field, with the sky (much akin to WW's waters), I think what they did here fits the game well.

4. Motion controls aren't 1:1. Well, they aren't really meant to be true one-to-one. I've heard complaints about re-calibrating, but I never had to do more than the requisite once per session. The motion controls are spot on and even have some flexibility -- you really could play it lazily on the couch turned on your side if you wish (Would you rather stand like a foolish pretend-swordsman as if in front of a Kinect?).

5. The game doesn't have [insert feature available to other HD consoles]. These quibbles arguably have the least merit. A game can only be as good as the hardware it has to run it, and the best it can (and ought to) do is mask it, though true sticklers can see through it. So it could never have HD graphics running at 480p. With its limited processing power, it's impressive that it has as much going on as it does, especially as it is constantly determines your controller's movement. Holistically, it does very well against other games in terms of gameplay.

---

With that in mind, here are things I think they could have done better (or at least differently). Now bear in mind that I already consider this game a masterpiece -- I just wanted to touch upon things that could have used a bit more polish.

1. More relevant NPCs. Supporting chararacters are for the most part forgettable and don't matter to the quest. If you asked me, I couldn't name more than five Skyloftians and surface dwellers.

• Skyloft. Seriously, besides the main characters, the only Skyloftians I remember are Gaebora and Groose. I'm not looking for side stories as gripping as Majora's Mask's Anju and Kafei, but it would be nice to think your neighbors actually mattered to your life.
• Surface. Okay, there were races and mythical creatures. But if this is an origins story, shouldn't I find myself caring more about Gorons and the non-existent Zoras? We had a couple of communities, but I don't see why we couldn't have a few more spread out in an area, even if they were the same race. If this really is an RPG, why not have a few more "towns"?
• Interactions. In previous games, the "little guys" did more than just stand around; they showed up and even helped out during your quest. Maybe they were freedom fighters. Maybe they were sages. But they did more than just walk a pre-defined path and offer you hints. I don't care if he is the Hero of Time; he can still have people doing more than offering an occasional hint at a temple entrance.

2. A less annoying companion. They gave your guide Fi a unique personality, but sometimes she just got in the way. I appreciate that she took a while before revealing any hints about a boss's weakness, but then other times she spelled out what and where to fetch without giving you a chance to think about it.

• Statistics. I get that the probabilities add a bit to her "personality", but those 60-percent-really-means-100-percent scenarios got old very quickly. They could have made her seem like an automaton without spewing arbitrary greater-than-50 percentages. GlaDOS was a computer and she had spunk!
• Hand-holding. I understand accessibility, and I don't discourage in-game hints, provided their optional. So the fortune teller and Sheikah stones are fine for when you get stumped. Then you have those times when a NPC makes a reference and Fi immediately gives you the answer. Where's the fun in that? I understand that not everybody could remember earlier interactions (I may have been at an advantage in playing the game through within a week), but it's disappointing when she immediately ruins any "a-ha!" moment. If people really get stuck, let them seek it out!
• Growth. Part of what made TP's Midna so endearing was how she grew alongside you over the course of the game, making it said to see her go at the journey's end (Spoiler? Eh, not really -- the game had ended, the adventure was over). Toward the end, she really was your "companion". Meanwhile, Fi simply unlocks memories and reasserts her artificial nature, even at the conclusion. What gives?

3. Better sidequests. The sidequest for the Hylian shield is a worthwhile one, but everything else amounts to little more than a fetch quest for a heart container or rupees. How about hidden skills like in TP? I guess that's a Zelda standard, but it would have been nice to have integrated storytelling, exploration, or simply variety offered in Majora's Mask.

4. Fleshed-out backstory for the demon lord and his master. You only start to learn about the big bads at the tail-end of the quest, prior to which Ghirahim is mainly absent, save for a few cameos. It would have been nice to have Ghirahim (or background details) show up throughout (instead of in large chunks at the beginning, middle, and end of the adventure), and for variety, I would have preferred to gradually learn about his master through other ways (perhaps stumbling upon ancient artifacts or other cutscenes). See, with a last battle as epic as it was, it would have been nice to build up to it, and I felt a bit robbed with how it just came out of nowhere with explanation after explanation at the very end. In general, a lot of backstory was force-fed to you with little 'discovery' by the player.

5. More items and usage. OoT had tons of items you could use throughout, and TP had several items, though meant for specific areas. SS basically had eight critical items and a nice (but inconsequential) upgrade system. With environments as dense as they offered, why not incorporate new ways to integrate other items to allow for further exploration? Or even if the essential eight remain, having them more than a one-trick pony would have been amazing. Remember the magnetic properties of TP's iron boots? Or the joy of discovering the double-clawshots? I miss that extra bit of creativity.

6. More aggressive enemies. I get that this is the first 'real' motion-control game, so they didn't want to make it too difficult. But enemies do a lot of defense and not a lot of offense, even toward the end of the game when they strike in numbers. This is further supported by my lack of use of the shield. I never had a shield break because I barely had to use it, and I barely had to use it because enemies didn't really attack me.

7. Less redundant messages. So many messages recur in the game. Over and over. And without the quick-scrolling (i.e. holding 'A') that we just had in Twilight Princess.

• Item collection. You'd think after my 50th Blessed Butterfly, I wouldn't need an explanation. The same goes for return visits to shop owners -- I know what I want, so stop telling me the same programmed message. In the same way that you could use the '2' button for explanations of controls, it would have done wonders to relegate repeat messages to an on-demand button press.
• Fi's reminders. Besides what I mentioned earlier, you have to admit that it gets annoying when Fi nags you about low health. You know, in case the constant beeping and flashing red didn't already tip you off. The same goes for low batteries. You can get a surprising amount of remaining play time from you current batteries from the first time she reminds you to change them out.
• Mini-game recaps. You complete a mini-game in a certain amount of time. The screen fades out with your time in the top-center. You return to a screen with your time in place. Now, the NPC reminds you -- as the text slowly scrolls by -- what time you scored. Of course, when you don't successfully complete the mini-game, you have to rinse and repeat. Come on, now.

8. On-screen map. While I appreciated the self-assigned beacons, there were so many times that I wish I had an optional map in a bottom corner (like in OoT), as I spent many a time pressing '+' to re-visit the map. Another alternative would have been faster loading times for the map (it didn't seem like that much to render).

9. More memorable tunes. Maybe it's too much to ask in an age of atmospheric music, but I'd even settle for nods to past Zelda themes, in the same way that later games had clips or remixes of their age-old music. Now, it says something that I was able to recognize the sand and fire dungeons in that final dungeon, so I guess that says something, but those were purely atmopsheric, now weren't they? Overall, the music was good and fitting, but not particularly memorable. Frankly, if it wasn't orchestrated, I don't think it would have had much to it.

[Edit, 12/23] Having listened closely to the entire soundtrack, I realized that the music was fairly referential, not just to itself but past games in the series. Characters did have their own music, much like the prevalent leitmotifs of Final Fantasy VI, but I still don't think the music was strong enough. Honestly, as I was listening the non-atmospheric music, usually I'd think 'That sounds familiar', as opposed to, say, 'Oh, that's Fi's theme'. A minor quibble, but I feel they could have done better.

10. Better integration of the harp. The harp was basically OoT's ocarina, except underutilized, not just in purpose but in execution. I remember a Nintendo official raving about how the harp was the perfect instrument for the game because you could pluck or strum. However, as I played the game, all I could ever do was juvenile strumming, so I consider that a missed opportunity. What made the ocarina from OoT so enchanting was that you could play tunes whenever you wanted and just for fun. Yes, it was nice to play along the background music but maybe it would have had a bigger impact if related more to your quest.

---

In closing, these aren't particularly major gripes, and for what they did, they did a magnificent job. As the Zelda series progresses forward (particularly if it decides to continue building upon its origin stories), it would be nice to see actions b the acclaimed Hero of Time (i.e. you) actually shape the world. I recall games such as Chrono Trigger and Terranigma, which show the progression of time and the change in environment. I'm not looking for some sort of sci-fi time travel scheme, but it would be nice to demonstrate true progression in your (and the world's) growth besides characters simply asserting how much you've grown.

Regardless, this iteration in the series is the biggest leap forward since The Ocarina of Time, and I look forward to seeing how this series progresses.

Super Mario Advance 4, World E

Once upon a time, Nintendo created the game Super Mario Bros. 3, hailed as the best video game on the NES (Famicom) console. Over the years, this gem had been remade, first with updated graphics in Super Mario All-Stars (SNES) and then in Super Mario Advance 4 (GBA) with updated gameplay earlier in this decade.

Within this game is a special "World E", which featured a lot of throwbacks to past Mario platformers, from the very first NES game through the later games of the SNES era (and even some ideas that would eventually manifest in New Super Mario Bros. Wii). These features, however, could only be unlocked using Nintendo's e-Reader peripheral for Game Boy Advance (and its requisite connector cables).

Nintendo e-Reader, you say? Yeah, exactly. It didn't sell well (I'm not even sure if it made it state-side), so these "lost levels" fell into oblivion, making this a forgotten well-kept secret. A secret that had you miss out on items including pickable vegetables (Mario 2) and cape feather (Mario World).

But to truly experience the nostalgic glory, you'll need to check out this video by copyRighthunter, who compiled every exclusive feature in action for your viewing pleasure. Even if you haven't played all of these games, it's still pretty awesome. Prepare to be amazed with ten minutes of absolute nostalgia.

Exclusive elements from the following other games are present in World E (no more spoilers, just watch!):

• Mario Bros.
• Super Mario Bros.
• Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels
• Super Mario Bros. 2
• Super Mario Advance
• Super Mario World
• Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
• New Super Mario Bros.

This is how Nintendo made the best retro Mario platformer even better (now if only New Super Mario Bros. Wii adopted ideas like this). Maybe later down the road we can get a port of this game to the console...and with multiplayer!

Celes and Locke's Themes in Final Fantasy VI

Final Fantasy VI has several memorable themes, but two of my favourites are the leitmotifs (or character pieces) for Celes and Locke, two of the more fully-developed characters.

Below is Celes' theme, whose opening notes continue to remind me of Aerith's theme (FFVII). It's a light, sweet, and somewhat introspective theme, with a couple of leading tone accidentals that make it quite interesting.

Besides the accidentals, I also enjoy how the strings move in contrary motion with the melody in every other measure. That bit of "complexity" is complemeneted with a rather straightforward harmonic analysis. There's the tonic (I), predominants (IV, ii) and dominant (V) chords with a handful of iii's. The iii (the minor chord built on the third degree appears quite a bit here and function as a substitute for the dominant V.

That secondary dominant in the penultimate measure also catches the ear since it's so foreign. After all, a diatonic (i.e. "in the key") chord appearing on scale degree 7 is usually diminished (even more "minor" than "minor"), but instead we have a dominant seventh chord built on that same degree -- which means plenty of extra accidentals. Yet it leads right back to that familiar iii chord, so it's not all that strange in the grand scheme

Now, contrast this with the theme of Locke, the energetic, adventurous treasure hunter, who plays the role of "hero" for our damsel in distress.

This upbeat theme has an even simpler melody, but it also has an extra element with its rhythmic driving force. Though the other theme does some stepwise motion, this theme includes some more in the bass accompaniment and the trade-off during the second half. Though it doesn't do much with contrary motion, it does have some interesting chords (and a key change) thrown in the mix.  The bIII and bII, in particular, stand out, as do those few close-harmony chords played by the horns.

What I like most about this theme is its shift on tonal center; it starts off in G major and shifts to F major (the next portion goes into Eb major, and it eventually looping back to G). What it lacks in contrasting motion, it certainly makes up with motion in rhythm and between keys.

Each of these themes have contrasting rhythm, characters, and overall sound, which is probably why it fascinates me when they appear in counterpoint during the end credits theme. Listen for yourself: 

First, I thought it's worth mentioning that this final key, Bb with 2 flats, is the "average" of the original two keys, Eb with 1 flat and G with 1 sharp (or -1 flats). A striking coincidence? Perhaps.

Upon closer inspection, the reason why the counterpoint harmony works so well for those overlapping measures is because (1) several of the chords are actually common (though expressed differently) and (2) for the half that aren't exactly the same, their scale degrees overlap (it also helps that the notes between the melodies line up to form appropriate harmonies). To break it down, here is how the chords compare:

Measure 1 2 3 4

Celes I iii IV iii

Locke I V IV I

Ending I iii7 IV I

If you aren't as familiar with chords and their scale degrees:

• A triad built on scale degree 1 (I), contains 1, 3, and 5 ("do, "mi", and "so")
• A triad built on scale degree 3 (iii), contains 3, 5, and 7 (or "mi", "so", and "ti")
• A triad built on degree 5 (V), contains 5, 7, and 2 ("so", "ti", and "re").
• A seventh chord built on 3 (iii7), contains 3, 5, 7, and 2

So if you line up a I against a iii, you're sharing 3 and 5. If you line up a iii against a V, you're sharing 5 and 7. As long as your melodies don't have too many disagreeable notes when superimposed, you're in for a treat (especially when the independent lines form chords when they meet).

No wonder it sounds so good. Of course, that's the whole "point" to counterpoint.

If you're into games and music theory, check out Cruise Elroy.

Super Smash Bros. Grand Medley breakdown

If any of you are (classic) video game [Nintendo] fans, then you'll appreciate the references made in the following medley.

It's the Smash Bros Grand Medley, as performed by the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra. It was featured as part of the Smash Bros. DX album, as an homage to the video games that inspired Super Smash Bros. Melee, all from 1980-1998.

With a bit of research, I finally determined all of the tunes.

• 0:00 - Super Mario Bros. series (NES)
• 0:00 - "Ancient Kingdom I" (Super Mario Bros. Overworld Theme)
• 0:55 - "Ancient Kingdom II" (Super Mario Bros. 2 Overworld Theme)
• 2:17 - Mr. Game And Watch (G&W)
• 2:17 - Flat Zone Theme
• 3:40 - Balloon Fight (NES)
• 4:08 - Balloon Fight Main Theme
• 5:11 - F-Zero (SNES)
• 5:11 - Big Blue Theme
• 6:39 - Mach Rider Theme
• 7:28 - Super Mario World (SNES) 
• 7:44 - "Yoshi's Island" (Air Platform Theme)
• 8:49 - Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time (N64)
• 8:49 - Saria's Theme
• 9:40 [part II, 0:30] - Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
• 9:40 - Overworld Theme
• 10:20 [part II, 2:27] - Ice Climbers (NES)
• 10:20 - Icicle Mountain
• 12:05 [part II, 2:58] - Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN)
• 12:05 - Peach's Castle Theme Underground Theme from SMB

Facial movement in video games

As I watched the seven-minute Final Fantasy XIII trailer, it occurred to me that despite how gorgeous the graphics looked, the mouth movements were missing...something.

Don't take me wrong - they've gone far with rendering people in video games, but similar to Japanese animated shows, their mouth movements just don't sync with the words being said. Cartoons are more forgiving because at times you can get away with the "Muppet effect", where you signify speech with the alternation of open and closed movements of the mouth, without regard to the shape.

But with the level of detail that Japanese studios are integrating with their graphics, I'd like to see the next generation of games actually render the appropriate muscle movements with the spoken words. Because right now, the words just "line up" (i.e. the whole premise of dubbing), yet you hardly see the lips press together (rather, they just lightly grace one another). Without insulting their greater efforts, it reminds me of the simple movements that babies make when they go, "wa-wa-wa".

At the same time, I understand that investing considerably more time, effort, and money into animating that detail of muscle movements probably isn't worth it. It really would require two separate groups specializing in linguistics and computer animation for each language. So for now, they probably just let us deal with that, since the player should care more about the gameplay. And I suppose I'd rather have a game with a polished engine in which people where masks than a beautifully animated movie that, well, sucks.

And, in the end, I suppose Square-Enix has proven themselves with The Spirits Within, which, despite being a flop, did properly (and oftentimes realistically) render humans and emotions.

Review: New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Nintendo is going back to its roots, while introducing some innovative play to the mix.

Well, sort of.

A new game will debut in mid-November as an upgrade to the classic NES (i.e. Super Mario Bros.) platforming action. Only this time, it's receiving the graphical upgrade akin to the DS game "New Super Mario Bros" and allowing four players to cooperate and compete on their latest system (hence the name "New Super Mario Bros. Wii" - wow, quite a mouthful).

I really hope this game will be good. Sure, the hands-on previews from Kotaku, IGN, and Joystiq seem to be fairly positive, but from the limited research (and limited details revealed) I can't help but think that this game is really holding back. In particular, my upfront gripes include:

• Only two plumbers and two toads? Even Doki Doki Panic Super Mario Bros. 2 had Peach. If they wanted to stick to the "brothers", they could have easily integrated Wario and even given Waluigi his platforming debut.
• No online multiplayer. Seriously? How else am I supposed to play across the US with Reilly?

Other mini-gripes:

• Need more power-ups. If the Wii really is a nostalgic console, they could have brought back more of the classics from SMB3. I hope they offer more than the new ice and propeller suits. 
• Need more retro levels. I do appreciate that the game was built from the ground up, but I sure hope there are some additional levels that pay homage to the NES/SNES days.

With such hits as Super Mario Galaxy, I understand that it's difficult to capture the same "wow" factor. But having had such flops as Wii Music, Nintendo really ought to try harder to hold onto its fanbase.

Sure, the last three years have seen record-breaking numbers, allowing Big N to emerge victorious in the console wars, but I wonder if returning to the big leagues has caused them to play it cheap, just so they can sustain their profits.

It's almost like they've decided they don't want to take any more chances, that it's easier to play it safe.  I understand the rationale, but I also feel they more than enough tools at their disposal to go innovate some more.

Periodic Table of Elements featuring Final Fantasy

Given the vast cast in the Final Fantasy universe and the series of nerdy "periodic tables" being constructed for various media such as game controllers and Mario, I thought I'd do one in line with the one for video game characters--only exclusively Final Fantasy and featuring the actual periodic table of elements.

The Periodic Table of Elements below features heroes, villains, monsters, summons, and supporting characters from across the main series - from Final Fantasy I through XIII.

Individuals were associated based on their names and the symbol, usually due to spellings, phonetics, or initials (or out of desperation to best fit someone, anyone).

This was the first page that actually went "viral", thanks to Geeokologie picking it up. Eventually people made T-shirts and other merchandise inspired by it (naturally leaving no association to me). It actually inspired me to touch it up and make it interactive (I haven't yet migrated that functionality here, but I will do in due time).

The table was compiled by me, with much of the information and images from The FF Wiki. Characters are property of Square-Enix.

Super Mario Bros. Underwater Theme analysis

I was playing the "Underwater Theme" from Super Mario Bros., and in noticing how "pretty" the chromaticism sounds, I decided to do a harmonic analysis.

Here it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc28zcBIX7U

Read the analysis below:


Conclusion? Eh, just use of secondary dominants and passing augmented chords.

For sake of argument, I'll consider a major chord built on scale degree 7 a "secondary dominant" since it's usually interpreted as V/iii, though it's not exactly tonicizing iii here.The ostinato G and voice leading in general is pretty smooth (Note: I also put all nonharmonic tones in parentheses, including passing tones, neighboring tones and ostinato).

Gotta' love them cute Koji Kondo harmonies.

Hyrule Field vs. Good Egg Galaxy

A while ago I made a remark about two Nintendo themes, one from The Ocarina of Time and the other from Super Mario Galaxy. Well, I finally decided to set some time aside and analyze the fragments. Prepare yourself for a little bit of music theory (excuse the hasty transcriptions).

Hyrule Field - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Good Egg Galaxy - Super Mario Galaxy

Chords are given above the staffs, with Roman numeral analysis below. Now since they're in two different keys, I transposed the Hyrule chord progression to the simplest key of C major so you could compare the chords within the same key.



Now, even if you don't know music theory and can't hear the chords, I think you can at least agree that they look similar. Add to that the basic melodic contour and it seems like Mahito Yokota (composer of SMG) ripped off of Koji Kondo (composer of OoT)

Now, let's dissect the progressions and compare the chords against one another (vertically):

• Coinciding chords. Chord #1, 3, 7, and 8 are the same. That's half of the eight chords and traditionally the the framework of any basic tonic-predominant-dominant progression. Another way of looking at it is that these are the main chords, while everything else embellishes them.


• Substituted tonic. Chord #5 in the first progression is a "I" or tonic chord (C-E-G), so the chord of the key (C major). The second progression has a "vi" chord in its place, which is A minor (A-C-E), which shares two of the three notes. In general, substituting a vi for a I is called deceptive cadence since you be expecting the original C major chord but instead hear a chord of a different quality, yet it differs by one note (as a triad). Add to it the G from the arpeggiated melody and this seventh chord (A-C-E-G) actually contains the other progression's tonic chord  (C-E-G). How's that for overlap?


• Foreign predominant chords. Chord #6 in the first progression is a D major chord, a chord outside of the key of C major. The corresponding chord in the second progression is the A-flat chord, also outside of the key (accidentals are the first hint). The D major chord functions as a secondary dominant (V of V), as it sets up the G major in the following two measures. The A-flat chord, when thought of as an augmented sixth chord without the seventh also sets up the G major chord in the following measures. Even if you don't understand a word of that, the point is these two major predominant chords serve the same function yet clearly lie outside of the key.


• And as for that second chord. Well, that's a bit tougher to explain, and I could easily cop-out and say it's a throwaway (we've already accounted for 7 out of the 8). Here, I want to say that the strength of the fifth in the melody (in the scores, that's D with respect to G and G with respect to C) dominates the measure as it stands out as the highest note of the passage. And as I suggested above, it is an embellishing, passing chord that isn't as significant as the others.

When you consider it all together, you can see how they're structurally similar, especially with the primary chords. I actually thought they were the same progression the first time I heard the Good Egg Galaxy theme. Then again, that could just be because I fondly remember the Hyrule Field theme and pick up on anything that bears any resemblance.

So what do you think? Have I convinced you? Do you think Mahito Yokota ripped off of Koji Kondo?