Fast Racing NEO - A Neon Blitzkrieg

Fast Racing NEO - Wii U

Fast Racing NEO is a futuristic racing game attempting to scratch the itch left by Nintendo's abstaining from developing a new entry in their F-Zero franchise. Trailers and promotional material suggested that Fast Racing NEO would have everything a hardcore racing fan would want, but skepticism is inevitable when an impressive-looking title bears a $15 price tag. HD graphics and lightening-fast races while playing are considerably awesome, but a slightly underwhelming lack of content in addition to unstable online servers (at time of writing), make a strong case to justify Fast Racing NEO's extremely reasonable cost. 

Fast Racing NEO offers absolutely stunning graphics, extremely responsive controls, 10 racers, 16 different tracks split across 4 cups, 3 difficulty settings and 5 game modes. Of course what matters most are the tracks, which are exceedingly beautiful and masterfully designed. While many tracks have themes and environments shared between them, such as airborne rain forests, stormy oceans, and port-side bays, the tracks themselves are entirely unique and seldom bore, especially since the short races coming as the result of high speeds don't last long enough for you to get tired of any track. Moreover, an inspired color-based mechanic allows you to gain an advantage over your opponents while you race. At all times, each car glows either orange or cyan; certain boost-pads and ramps can only be utilized if your car's color matches that of the boost-pad and ramps. It is up to you to toggle the color of your car while you race in order to take advantage of each of the color boosts, resulting not only in beautiful displays of the game's visual style, but rapid inputs and easily punishable errors in timing. Mastering the toggling of your car's color and the layout of the tracks themselves is no easy task, but doing so will be necessary for victory rewarded by unlocking additional racers or circuits.

Even the most conditioned futuristic racing fanatic may want to begin their Fast Racing NEO career on Subsonic speed, before working their way through Supersonic and Hypersonic. Fast Racing NEO offers a challenging experience but much like F-Zero, is rarely unfair. This is said not to discourage those curious about NEO, but to make clear the fact that Fast Racing NEO is not a casual, fun-for-the-whole-family kind of game. While Fast Racing NEO is perfect for those seeking a challenge, it certainly occupies an area of the racing-game spectrum opposite of more casual racers, such as Mario Kart 8 or Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, both also found on the Wii U.

Though Fast Racing NEO contains both single player circuits, online multiplayer, and 4-way local multiplayer (with the multiplayer modes running acceptably well, albeit not perfectly), the real criticism comes from the dearth of content. F-Zero GX, released 13 years ago featured both single player circuits and an entirely separate story mode containing exclusive tracks and missions. This story mode in F-Zero GX made the game feel complete, instead of just a collection of tracks to play with. Fast Racing NEO feels incomplete with only its 16 tracks to be played at least 3 times each (once on each difficulty). Repetition plagues Fast Racing NEO, and those looking for an endless stream of new courses and content will be disappointed. Unstable servers also result in an inconsistent online multiplayer experience,  essentially eliminating the easiest way to extend Fast Racing NEO's life. 

The most important elements of a wonderful racing title are easily found in Fast Racing NEO. Spellbinding graphics, thrilling track design, and both local and online multiplayer definitely make this game worth $15, even $25, but not any more than that. Fast Racing NEO is sincerely excellent, but not quite perfect. That which is offered in F.R.N. is crafted with originality and inspiration, but it's small size leaves more to be desired. While Fast Racing NEO does very little badly, compared to F-Zero GX, it feels more like a large appetizer- not quite a full meal.  

Nintendo Direct 11/12/15

Earlier this evening, Nintendo streamed the first Nintendo Direct presentation we have seen since the passing of former Nintendo of Japan President Satoru Iwata. The following is everything discussed during said presentation in order, along with some brief thoughts:

The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess HD Remake coming to WiiU -

Twilight Princess is my favorite LoZ game, so I am excited to know that many gamers will be picking it up to play again. That being said, the footage of the game showed during the Nintendo Direct looked underwhelming. I had a very hard time identifying the differences between the original version and the HD footage, not to mention the fact that those near 10 year old models haven't aged as well as they did in Wind Waker. It'll be fine, since it's Zelda, but we'll have to see about this one. 

Zelda WiiU- 

Literally all they said was that it was still happening.

New Pokemon Mystery Dungeon for the 3DS- 

Take it or leave it. I left it. 

New Splatoon stages/weapons/gear/etc.- 

Indifferent. The game is amazing with or without new additions, so either way is fine by me.

Super Mario Maker App-

Apparently, a new PC and mobile devices app is going to be released in order to introduce a more efficient way of searching for user-made stages worth playing in Super Mario Maker. lol

Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival-

Take it or leave it. I bloody left it. They also mentioned a couple of Animal Crossing Amiibo, but I feel like that craze has passed.

Mario Tennis Ultra Smash-

Release date- Nov 20. Demonstrated a few of the new moves in the game. If you're into it, you should be pleased; if not, skip.

Xenoblade Chronicles X- 

Xenoblade Chronicles X

Release date: Dec 3. Kind of just reminded us that it was coming out...again. It looks really good, but nothing new to report.

Nintendo Badges- 

God, I can't even remember. I think it is a free-to-start 3DS game that contributes to an ability to unlock new themes for the 3DS Home Screen. 

Pokemon Picross- 

Another Pokemon-themed puzzle game for the 3DS. Pokemon shuffle is really good, but I don't need another Pokepuzzle game, personally.

Steamworld Heist-

A tactical 2D strategy game. It kind of looks like a 2D Codename S.T.E.A.M. It looks pretty good to me. I'll keep my eye on it.

Fast Racing Neo-

Didn't look as good as what I would want a new F-Zero game to be, but I'll keep my eye on it.

Typoman-

Apparently, the WiiU gamepad makes Typoman
 noteworthy and intuitive

Puzzle platformer that uses the manipulation of letters in words to affect what that word does in the game. It looks artsy and unique; I'll be sure to keep my eye on this as well, especially since I can sense that it will be inexpensive upon release.

Pokken Tournament- 

Nothing really new to report, but it looks really fun. I'll probably get it soon after it launches.

Star Fox Zero-

Release date- Apr 22. Doesn't look any better or worse than it has been looking in past trailers. I'm curious about how this game will do.

Mario and Luigi / Paper Mario crossover game- 

Looks to be a combination of Paper Mario and the Mario & Luigi games. It's not hard to imagine since the games feature almost identical gameplay.

Final Fantasy Explorers- 

Release date- Jan 26. Looks alright. First FF game on the 3DS. Should be worth keeping an eye on.

FE Fates Bundle includes all 3 games, 3DS
 drawstring pouch, and an artbook for $80

Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright/ Conquest/ Revelation-  

Release date: Feb 19th. Looks really good. Dunno how I feel about the story being spread across multiple games, but an $80 bundle for all 3 titles is being released, and tbh, that's not the worst deal.

Pokemon Red, Blue, Yellow on 3DS eshop- 

Release date- Feb 27th. Can't find anything to complain about here, unless you already own the games. At least having them on the 3DS will relieve you of the stress of having that old internal battery wear out on you. I'm curious to see how much they will cost.

Hyrule Warrior Legends-

Release date- March 25. Take it or leave it. Didn't look too bad to me, but redundant if you've played the Wii U version

Dragon Question VII- 

If you're into DQ, I don't see why you wouldn't be happy.

Cloud Strife in Super Smash Bros.- 

I'm stoked. No release date, but an awesome choice. 

http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/11/12/final-fantasy-7s-cloud-coming-to-super-smash-bros-wii-u-3ds Check it out here. 

All in all, there should be something here for everyone. I'm excited, but more importantly, I'm pleased. 

The Nintendo Wii

Can we discuss the Nintendo Wii for a second? It's an amazing console. No doubt everyone on planet earth knows what the Wii is, but I wonder how many "serious" gamers have realized the true potential in this console.

I bring my Nintendo Wii, as opposed to my Gamecube, Xbox 360, or WiiU, with me to college each semester; it is so clearly my best option for many reasons, and after having spent the last couple of years playing the Wii to death, I can honestly admit that I would seriously recommend this console to any gamer looking for something different or new to play.

It could be that even after all of these years, you still have a Nintendo Wii tucked away in your attic or basement, gone untouched for the better half of the last 10 years. The Wii fell off from about 2008 - 2012, and considering that console generations only last for about 7 years, it's safe to say that the Wii suffered from a somewhat pre-mature death. Or at least that's what you may think.

First off, I'm going to take a moment to declare that there are so many more great games on the Wii then one might think. You have your Mario Galaxy, Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess, Metroid Prime 3, Guitar Hero 3, and Smash Bros. Brawl released within the first couple of years of the Wii's life, then everyone else knows about Mario Galaxy 2, Sonic Colors, and Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword, but I'm here as always to talk about lesser-known games, and let me say, these following titles are legitimately not only a few of my favorite games on the Wii, but a few of my favorite games of all time:

Kirby's Return to Dreamland

Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon

Excitebots

Sin and Punishment Star Successor

Pandora's Tower

The Last Story

Six masterfully crafted, must-have games if you own a Wii. All six are unlike anything I had ever played prior, and each are games unlike anything else offered on the 360 or PS3 during the same generation; I'm not saying these games are better than anything on the other consoles, but they hold up by today's standards and offer an inspired and wonderful gaming experience that has yet to be recreated by any other game I've played.

Right off the bat, six games to buy if you still have your Wii hanging around collecting dust BUT catching up on missed games is not exactly where the Wii earns it's $60 grey-market value.
The real hidden feature on the Wii that makes missing it a critical error in my eyes is the Wii's Virtual Console.

The Virtual Console is a free service offered by Nintendo with which one can use their Wii to download retro games for an extremely low price. I'm not talking only Super Mario Bros. to The Legend of Zelda, I'm talking everything from Mario Bros. to Golden Axe, to Megaman 2, then Legend of Zelda A Link to the Past, to Super Metroid, to Super Castlevania IV, to Secret of Mana, to Mega Man X, to Chrono Trigger on the SNES. After that, you've every must-play on the Nintendo 64.

92 titles from the NES - all $5
63 titles from the SNES - all $8
21 titles from the N64 - all $10
73 titles from the Sega Genesis - all $8
59 titles from TurboGrafx 16 - all $6
54 titles from NeoGeo - all $9
15 titles from the Sega Master System - all $5
and then hundreds of games released for download-only such as Sonic the Hedgehog 4 and Megaman 10

What must be understood about the Virtual Console is that it gives players easy access to the games for which collectors will easily pay $80+ dollars. Take Chrono Trigger for the SNES: Chrono Trigger is considered to be one of the greatest RPGs of all-time. Grey Market Price: ~$90. Virtual Console Price: $8.

Of course, collectors collecting for their retro consoles will never be interested in a digital copy of a game as opposed to a cartridge, but this service is perfect for gamers like me since I'm willing to sacrifice a cartridge if I get to save $82 in return- I'll just use the saved money to fill my car up so I can drive to all of the cool parties I get invited to...

THEN, you have 100% backwards compatibility with the Nintendo Gamecube, provided you got your Wii before 2011, back when all of the cool kids got theirs. No need to discuss how awesome backwards compatibility is, provided you've read literally anything else on this blog (I am quite fond of the Gamecube, if you haven't noticed). What is also noteworthy is the fact that while component cables that upscale video quality from 480i to 480p are impossible to find for the Gamecube, they can be found easily for the Wii. So if you've ever wanted improved video quality for your Gamecube games, get a Wii.

With the Wii (about $50 on eBay at time of writing), you gain access to easily 20 amazing games as well as the rest of the Wii's admittedly mediocre library, all of the Gamecube's library, most of the library of the NES, SNES, and Sega Genesis, a bunch of N64 titles, Netflix, Youtube, and Project M. It's an old console with very few hidden gems, and even a handful of it's first party titles are garbage, but this console has immeasurable value to gamers who, like me, may be looking to update their knowledge of retro games without making their wallets cry or are trying to get through the summer's gaming drought with some great original Wii games that hold up without question.