Category Archives: News

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Interview with Darren Kerwin

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Harmony Of Heros

So earlier I listed to a trailer made for an album called Harmony of Heroes, and honestly I was instantly impressed. What most people don’t know is I’m actually really picky about my music so for me to be impressed is a pretty big deal. I managed to get in touch with Darren Kerwin the Director of the Harmony of Heroes team and managed to ask him a few questions about the album.

  1. What made your team decide to take on such a huge and impressive project?

We had previously worked on two Metroid themed albums called Harmony of a Hunter and Harmony of a Hunter: 101% Run to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Metroid franchise. We felt that we had covered the vast majority of music from the games and felt there wasn’t enough to make a third. After considering many options, we decided that an album paying tribute to the Smash Bros franchise was a good idea, as it allows us to still focus on Metroid, but branch out and open up to many other franchises too.

 

  1. Nintendo has many great characters. Were there any characters in particular you were excited to make remixes for?

There are so many incredible pieces of music throughout the many franchises in Super Smash Bros, but for me, it has been incredible working on The Legend of Zelda and Pokémon franchises, they’re two very awesome game franchises that I adore.

  1. I heard about you’re work from another article and it said that you’re offering over 90 songs for free. Is that really true?

The album will indeed feature over ninety different tracks from a range of musicians and groups covering many different genres across the Smash Bros franchise.

  1. Is it possible to see remixes of songs from games like Custom Robo, and Golden Sun? Game references that did show up in Super Smash Brothers just not as playable characters.

All the music you will hear, will have featured in one of the Smash Bros titles.

  1. From what I’ve heard so far I can tell the songs have been changed some but still have many of the same elements to where I can tell exactly what song it was. How difficult was it to change the songs to where it’s different but still easily recognized.

When a musician approaches me for a track, we discuss what sort of genre we are going to be working with. We sometimes look at the theme from Smash Bros and the original source tune from the games they appear in, and try to find a balance. We have deviated substantially away from some, while others remain true. There are a lot of surprises!

  1. Is it possible to see more from your team after Harmony of Heroes releases?

For the moment, we are entirely focused on Harmony of Heroes, but who knows what the future might hold!

 

So there you have it. All the songs will come from Super Smash Brothers games so you can only imagine how vast the album is. Legend of Zelda, Pokemon, Fire Emblem, Mario, and so many more. Yes the songs are remade but you can still tell what song it is and after listening to some of the songs on the trailer I highly recommend downloading this album which is supposed to come out later this year.

For more information on Harmony of Heroes you can click on the links below.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HarmonyofHeroes

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HarmonyOfHeroes

Or their main webpage at http://www.harmonyofheroes.net/

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Mario Kart 8 Review

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luigi Death Stare

So I got a chance to experience Mario Kart 8 and I decided to write up a little review of the game. With all the hype built up about this game I had really high expectations, but were they met? We’re about to find out.

First I’m going to talk about the things I really liked about the game. The anti-gravity was amazing and it added a lot to the tracks as a whole because there was more freedom of movement and the visuals of driving sideways and upside down just made the game so much more entertaining. The second thing I liked was the massive amount of unlockable kart options. There were so many Karts, Bikes, ATVs, Wheels, and Gliders to choose from to build your perfect kart and it made it so exciting to get as many coins as I could to unlock these kart pieces. The third thing was just how beautiful the tracks were. The visuals were amazing and even the tracks that were previously used in Mario Kart looked so much better. The fourth thing I liked was the new items which really added to the game, but most of all there was finally a way to block the blue shell which was so much fun to do.

Now for the cons. First of all I hated the character selection. A lot of Koopalings and Babies but no King Boo, no Dry Bones, and instead we got Baby Rosalina, all the Koopalings, and a metal Peach. I’m just happy they left the Mii character, but still it was sad seeing the list of characters. Also to add to it the fact that all you have to do is win a bunch of random courses to unlock the characters. It made it far too easy to unlock the characters. By the time I finished all the 100cc races I had every character. Honestly I don’t have good things to say about the playable characters. Second of all the game just felt so easy. Not only did I unlock so many things right away but I got three stars almost every time I completed a grand prix. Also the delay from falling off the map was way too short. The dangerous Rainbow Road became a tame little kitten because even if you did fall it didn’t matter much because you could quickly recover. Also it felt almost unneeded to do well in the game because there was little reward, but really not much effort was needed.

Overall the game is fun because it has the traditional Mario Kart elements that are always fun to play. The game graphics are beautiful and the anti-grav was a wonderful addition to the game; however, the character selection was pitiful and the game was easy and quick to unlock stuff so overall the gameplay is there, but the extras are not so if you enjoy all the Mario Kart games it’s not disappointing but if you like the unlockable stuff and the characters you will not be happy but overall for me Gameplay trumps unlockable so I still highly recommend the game.

Final Score: 8 out of 10

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Whose Line Returns for an 11th Season

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Whose Line

For fans of improv the show Whose Line is it Anyways provides an amazing experience with several comedians performing random improv games where everything is made up and the points do not matter. In fact I’ll give the show 1000 points.

The show aired for eight seasons with Drew Carey as the host but ended in 2007 and was recently reborn, but with a new host Aisha Tyler because Carey is busy hosting the Price is Right. The show has currently aired two seasons with Tyler and is slated for a third with will premiere July 16th.

Overall I’ve seen the new Whose Line and it has a lot of the same elements that made the show great; however, I find that this version uses some of the same games over and over again like Helping Hands. The games are great and funny but the new version of the show seems to lack variety in comparison to what it once was.

I think Tyler makes a nice new host but just like Drew Carey fails to compare to Bob Barker on the Price is Right Tyler does not add to the show the same way Drew Carey did. She does a great job but really Drew Carey’s way of being funny works perfectly with Whose Line. Simply put some hosts are perfect for roles and Barker is to Price is Right as Carey is to Whose Line, but that being said I think it would be hard to find a better replacement than Tyler so I’m not disappointed.

Overall Whose Line is still a must see comic show and I can’t wait for the new season to premiere.

Jacob Carpenter is the writer for TSCN.TV and also a blogger under the name JSnakeC on IGN

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The Golden Sun Rises

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Golden Sun

Fans of the under rated Golden Sun series were overjoyed to find out that the original Golden Sun game was released for the Wii U virtual console for about $8. As a fan of the series this was a nice incentive for me to buy my first and only Wii U eshop purchase to date.

As fans know the original game had a sequel and it’s been revealed that Golden Sun: The Lost Age will be released in Japan on July 28th. This means that at some point possibly in August fans in the west can download this game and have a complete set of the GBA Golden Sun series. For those who are interesting in a complete set I also recommend the third and most recent game in the series Golden Sun Dark Dawn for the DS.

Overall this gives easy access to the entire Golden Sun series and I highly recommend this game for any RGP fan. Also a lot of fans have pointed out the absence of a Golden Sun trophy in the upcoming Super Smash Brothers game. This possibly hints at a playable Golden Sun character in the new game. While originally this seemed very unlikely with the inclusion of characters like Robin, Lucina, Little Mac, and Greninja it’s clear that nothing is predictable about this cast of characters so there is still hope for Golden Sun fans. Personally speaking if someone like Isaac appears in the roster with all the characters so far I will be overjoyed and wouldn’t have any suggestions to make.

Jacob Carpenter is the writer for TSCN.TV and also a blogger under the name JSnakeC on IGN

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Why Chrom is not playable in Smash

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Chrom

So Sakurai explained more details as to why Chrom is not a playable character in the new Super Smash Brothers game.

“We’ve just announced two new characters who will be joining the fray in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U. One is Robin, the avatar from Fire Emblem: Awakening, and the other is Lucina, a swordswoman who plays an important role in the same title. I’ll skip over the details.”

 

“What? Not Chrom!?” I suspect a lot of you will ask. Of course, Chrom is quite popular, being the protagonist of FE:A and all. However, I chose Robin and Lucina, and I will elaborate on my reasoning.”

 

“Robin appears in the game as a Tactician and functions much like a Mystic Knight (note: FF terminology, but equivalent to magic swordsman). I thought to utilize his all-around nature by assigning swordplay to his Smash attacks and magic tomes to his special attacks–that is, allow him to use magic.”

 

“His neutral special is thunder magic that grows stronger the larger you charge it. He uses fire magic for his side special, and wind magic for recovery as his up special. Although Robin doesn’t use dark magic in FE:A, I decided to assign it as his down special. It isn’t the first time I’ve given moves to a character that they don’t use in their respective game in order to capture certain aspects of the original title.”

 

“I also implemented the system used in FE:A, in which tomes break after overuse. Likewise, I included a similar system for the Levin Sword, which breaks after a certain number of uses. However, both the tomes and the Levin Sword will quickly regenerate after a set period of time.”

 

“Lucina uses the same techniques as Marth, a fighter with whom I’m sure most of you are already familiar. I even went so far as to make their strength, speed, and special attacks almost identical.

However, what sets Lucina apart is the fact that the strength of her attacks is uniform along the blade. Marth’s playstyle emulates the elegant swordplay of a fencer by dealing more damage when he strikes with the tip of his blade, but the damage Lucina deals is evened out. Thus, I think that Lucina will be much easier than Marth for novice players to play with.”

 

“I played all the way through FE:A and really wanted to include a character from that rich cast in Smash Bros. Naturally, I considered adding Chrom to the roster, but the decision wasn’t easy by any means.”

 

“At the end of the day, Chrom would just end up being another plain-old sword-wielder like Marth and Ike. Compared with other characters, he lacks any unique characteristics.

Conversely, when the idea of including Robin came to mind, conceiving the character was so easy that I immediately saw how it would work. From standards to specials, grabs to throws, all aspects of his moveset just fell into place. Not only did he possess characteristics unlike other fighters, but he also captured the essence of the Fire Emblem series. It was perfect!”

 

“In the end, if a game isn’t fun, then there’s no point. Of course, it would be really easy to make a game by churning out a ton of similar characters, but that’s not how I produce games.”

 

“Initially, I had considered including Lucina as one of Marth’s alternate costumes. After all, she has a close relationship with him in FE:A. In such cases, even if two characters’ names and voices differ, as long as they function the same way, I assign them as alternate costumes. The Wii Fit Trainers, Villagers, and Robin are examples of this setup.”

 

“However, even though Lucina shares her physical stats and techniques with Marth, the characteristics of their attacks differ. When two such similar characters function in an even slightly different manner, I give them a separate spot on the roster since that will affect battle records and whatnot. In that sense, you could say she was very lucky to join the fray!”

So not only was Chrom excluded because he risked being too similar to the other Fire Emblem characters but Lucina was almost a skin for Marth for the same reason. In my opinion Chrom should have been a skin for Marth since they are very similar but I can’t complain after all we have four Fire Emblem characters in this game and Robin’s Final Smash does include Chrom in a way that makes a nice tribute to the dual attack feature introduced in Fire Emblem Awakening.

Jacob Carpenter is the writer for TSCN.TV and also a blogger under the name JSnakeC on IGN

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Plantinum sees great things with Nintendo

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bayonetta-2

Platinum has had some really positive things to say about Nintendo. With how Nintendo has been promoting Bayonetta the series has received more attention than ever before which has Platinum games excited for the release of Bayonetta 2. Platinum had this to say about their experience with Nintendo.

“Believe it or not, you don’t really get the chance to convey what you want about the game, or show it to your fans in such a direct way so often, so it felt great to be able to take part in Treehouse Live, and I hope to be able to do more events like it in the future. Also, as a game fan myself, it was pretty cool to see Miyamoto-san and Tezuka-san (Yoshi’s Woolly World) up so close! I heard 60,000 people tuned in to hear about Bayonetta 2. Normal numbers for attendees at a conference stop around the 100s, so it’s hard for me to even imagine that large of a crowd.”

So not only did the company get to be creative with their game, but the people tuning in for Bayonetta 2 far exceeded the first game. It’s pretty clear that Platinum games will want to design more games with Nintendo. If that wasn’t enough promotion there’s more to Bayonetta than the games.

Funimation revealed that an anime based off the game will be produced by the same creators of Afro Samurai We have some information about the anime but not much at the moment. My question is how this anime will relate to the continuity of the games, but one thing is clear, we’re going to see a whole lot more of Bayonetta.

Jacob Carpenter is the writer for TSCN.TV and also a blogger under the name JSnakeC on IGN

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Updates on Avengers 2

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Hulk Buster

So recently an early pre-production sketch of the Hulk Buster Iron Man suit was released which says a lot about the potential direction Avengers 2 will take. It’s clear Tony Stark has taking some time to prepare for the Avengers since the first movie. While his reasons have yet to be revealed it’s likely that he is preparing for a possible Hulk catastrophe like on the Helicarrier in Avengers One.

If you look at the armor not a whole lot is revealed but considering how big the Hulk is and knowing the armor is bigger it’s clear that this armor will be huge. Also further analyzing the picture Hulk is clearly pushing with a lot of his might from his stance; however, it appears that the Hulk Buster armor could have more physical power than the Hulk. The armor is clearly winning against the Hulk in the picture as the armor has its arms almost fully extended while the Hulk’s are bent showing a sign that the Hulk is being overpowered. The smoke pattern also implies that the armor is stronger as the smoke seems to be coming from the Hulk’s feet which implies that the Hulk was already being pushed back and is trying to hold his own.

A second bit of news is the reveal of Ultron’s creator. We already know it’s not Hank Pymm but instead it’s Tony Stark. In an attempt to no longer use the Iron Man Suit Tony Stark created an A.I to fight in his place and in the place of all the other Avengers. Apparently in an attempt to keep the world safe Ultron went rogue and is now resorting to drastic means to protect people.  Also it’s revealed that the Vision is still a creation of Ultron but it does have a connection to Jarvis but the details are still unknown. My prediction is that Ultron tried to recruit Jarvis in an attempt to destroy the world by giving Jarvis his own body but Jarvis chose to join the Avengers instead. Just a theory anyways.

Now I want to talk about how Avengers 2 as a whole might be. We already know that the Avengers won’t be sitting around eating like the last movie which implies a possible feud at the end of Avengers 2. It is likely that the Avengers will be against Iron Man because not only did he create the new enemy but also a suit to overpower the mightiest Avenger. I wonder just how dark this movie will get especially since it seems to be surrounding Tony Stark and possibly the Hulk since we know he’ll play a much bigger role in the movie. Rumors state a possible Planet Hulk Storyline which would be an interesting way to incorporate Guardians of the Galaxy in the future. Overall though it’s a lot of content to get out in one movie.

Jacob Carpenter is the writer for TSCN.TV and also a blogger under the name JSnakeC on IGN

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Fire Emblem Burns in Super Smash Brothers

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FE Smash

So the new announcement for Super Smash Brothers was more than expected. We didn’t just confirm one character as expected but two new characters and the return of the Veteran Captain Falcon, but who were the two new characters?

Obviously if you don’t know you’re thinking one of them is Chrom. Afraid not. The two new characters are Lucina, and Robin the My Unit character both from Fire Emblem Awakening. Lucina honestly seems like a duplicate of Marth but not much was seen of her. Robin however looks really interesting with a combination of long distance magic attacks and short range sword attacks. Robin looks like a really adaptable character and personally as a Fire Emblem fan I’m overjoyed at the news but I honestly think Robin will be an interesting character to use.

However, this article comes with a theory. This is twice now we’ve seen anime style cutscenes to reveal new characters the first being Palutena at E3 where she comes in to rescue Pit from Link. Now Robin is rescuing Lucina from Captain Falcon. Honestly while they are nice it seems like a lot of effort just to announce a new character so I’m wondering if this has anything to do with a potential story mode for the game. As awesome as these short clips look I’m really hoping that’s the case.

Jacob Carpenter is the writer for TSCN.TV and also a blogger under the name JSnakeC on IGN

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Fancy a Dream Ball

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Dream ball card

Two interesting things happened with Pokémon this week. The first is the release of Vivillon’s Fancy Pattern. Because Pokémon X and Y’s Global Trade Station had over 100 million Pokémon traded Pokémon fans will get a chance to get their hands on the newest Vivillon Patter via Mystery Gift starting July 7th to July 31st.

That’s the good news. The bad news is Ray Rizzo a three time winner of Pokémon World Champion competitions was caught with a potentially hacked Pokémon. Rizzo uses a Aegislash which had no altered stats however upon closer inspection of his battles it’s clear his Pokémon is in a Dream Ball which is a Generation 5 Pokeball and Aegislash is a Generation 6 Pokémon making it impossible to have the combination. The controversy is the fact that the stats were not altered but it’s clearly an illegal or spawn of an illegal Pokémon. As of right now no decision has been made on what to do with Rizzo’s victories. Me personally I say let it go because if the stats are not altered then there is no issue. The victories were legit and Rizzo did not have an unfair advantage.

Jacob Carpenter is the writer for TSCN.TV and also a blogger under the name JSnakeC on IGN

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Fi Fye Fo Fum

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Fi

Fi the supporting character in Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword has been confirmed as a playable character in the upcoming Hyrule Warriors. Personally I’m happy about this for two reasons. First I think it’ll be interesting to see how the developers work with Fi to make her a fighting character and second I’m excited to see something about this game that doesn’t make me think of Twilight Princess. Don’t get me wrong I love Twilight Princess but for a game like this I want a lot of references to games all across the series.

I’ve read up on some comments on articles about this topic and I’m actually wanting to address some of them. First is the issue fans have with Link being the only Male character announced for the game so far. Relax there’s sure to be a lot more characters introduced and honestly who cares. If it was the other way around honestly nobody would pay attention to it. I personally do not see the big deal I see these characters and I am excited for their inclusion in the game. Also if you think about it, it’s not that shocking. Link, Zelda, and Ganon are the main characters in most Zelda games, but a lot of notable characters in the series are women just look at Legend of Zelda Oracle of Seasons and Ages, Twilight Princess, Windwaker, and Skyward Sword. Honestly why make such a fuss over a lot of women in the game when they are all amazing characters in their own right.  Second is the issue with Fi herself and how some fans found her constant reminders and comments in the game annoying. Honestly do you think that’s going to be the case in a Warriors game? The reminders were to help the player with game functions that won’t even be a part of this game.

I’m excited for Fi in this game and I can’t wait to see what else is coming. For all the people who have negative comments about this I say just give it a chance. With a game like Hyrule Warriors there’s bound to be characters we love and those that we hate. That’s just how a game with a massive cast list works.

Jacob Carpenter is the writer for TSCN.TV and also a blogger under the name JSnakeC on IGN