Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

Questions I have About The Link’s Awakening Remake And What That Might Mean For The Immediate Future.

To say that I was excited when I found out Link's Awakening is getting a Switch remake is an understatement. I have quite a few more thoughts about that release and I think some clear take aways that I wanted to talk with you about. If you have another take, please drop them in the comments!

The 3DS Moves Out of Focus

I love my 3DS and hope it has a long life ahead of it. I'm not one of those Nintendo fans that want to see the 3DS obsoleted. With that I noticed that the Link's Awakening remake is coming to the Switch with no mention of 3DS. If you look at past Zelda 2D topdown titles they came exclusively to the DS/3DS and Link Between Worlds(the last one on 3DS) had a... Read All To say that I was excited when I found out Link's Awakening is getting a Switch remake is an understatement. I have quite a few more thoughts about that release and I think some clear take aways that I wanted to talk with you about. If you have another take, please drop them in the comments!

The 3DS Moves Out of Focus

I love my 3DS and hope it has a long life ahead of it. I'm not one of those Nintendo fans that want to see the 3DS obsoleted. With that I noticed that the Link's Awakening remake is coming to the Switch with no mention of 3DS. If you look at past Zelda 2D topdown titles they came exclusively to the DS/3DS and Link Between Worlds(the last one on 3DS) had a similar style to the upcoming remake on Switch. Put another way, the Link's Awakening remake looks like it would have been a perfect fit for the 3DS but it's coming to the Switch and so far seems exclusive. Switch is Nintendos future and with that are they now focusing all new development in it's direction?

Will Nintendo Dual Wield Each of it's Properties?

For many years now you have the main Mario franchise focuses on 3D platformers such as Super Mario 3D World and more recently with Mario Odyssey. The second Mario franchise is closer to its 2D platforming roots in New Super Mario Bros that gets regular releases as seen recently with New Super Mario Bros. Wii U Deluxe on Switch. With the recent Pokemon Let's Go: Eevee and Pikachu and Nintendo ALSO working on a new a main series Pokemon game on Switch it seems Pokemon is dual wielding the franchise with games focused on the classic gameplay and the fresh new Pokemon installment coming later.

So this sort of begs the question, will Nintendo dual wield each of the franchises with games focusing on the classic gameplay and some moving forward as with Zelda? Seems so and I wonder what Nintendo franchise will be next? I'd love to see that treatment for Mario Kart and can think of many things i'd love to see in the next installment such as a Mario Maker style track creator.

Will Nintendo Remake All The Best of Gameboy Titles

Metroid: Samus Returns and now the Link's Awakening remake are strongly in the best-of Gameboy camp and I'm curious what Nintendo might be planning next? Frankly i'd prefer ports of Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess on Switch as Nintendo can only remake so many games at one time. That said, if we got a Six Golden coins or Wario remake i'd be totally in on that too.

Mario Maker 2 and Zelda: Link's Awakening Remake Announced in the Latest Nintendo Direct

I've been wanting a Mario Maker port on the Switch for a while now, but a sequel may be even better! Coming this June, Mario Maker 2 brings more features and more things to do, with each iteration of Mario as expected.

But the big surprise for me was. the Link's Awakening remake! The 1993 Gameboy masterpiece was my favorite Zelda game for quite some time, so I'm glad to see it reimagined. The art style is very charmingly cartoony, like everything's made out of plastic. We don't know much about any potential gameplay changes, and we know nothing about a release date yet, except it'll be in 2019. The little teaser at the end will have to hold you over.

In addition to... Read All

Cheerful Ghost Radio Episode 49 : Birds and Boxes and Bandersnatches, Oh My!

In this episode, we choose our own adventures while taking the Bird Box challenge in a Netflix double-feature review of Bird Box and Black Mirror: Bandersnatch!

Here Is 9 Minutes Of Rage 2 Gameplay That Will Blow Your Mind

Rage 2 is the AAA game that tops my anticipation list for 2019. I have a soft spot for iD Software games and was a fan of the original Rage so much so that Rage 2 will be a day one purchase. Rage wasn't the biggest hyped game when it came out and thoughts on it today aren't negative as much as fuzzy memory around it coming out entirely. All that said, I really enjoyed the shooter mechanics, think the game nailed driving around in your car, dug the wingstick and loved the co-op. A new nine minute gameplay trailer dropped today focusing on combat, driving and ... flying. Yeah, it seems that you can fly around in Rage 2 something I didn't know was coming and it looks... Read All Rage 2 is the AAA game that tops my anticipation list for 2019. I have a soft spot for iD Software games and was a fan of the original Rage so much so that Rage 2 will be a day one purchase. Rage wasn't the biggest hyped game when it came out and thoughts on it today aren't negative as much as fuzzy memory around it coming out entirely. All that said, I really enjoyed the shooter mechanics, think the game nailed driving around in your car, dug the wingstick and loved the co-op. A new nine minute gameplay trailer dropped today focusing on combat, driving and ... flying. Yeah, it seems that you can fly around in Rage 2 something I didn't know was coming and it looks quite fun.

Rage 2 Looks To Mix Up The Best Open World Games

I don't want to lose the fact that Rage 2 has some very deep callbacks to the original. The shooting sounds and looks like the original, the wasteland looks HEAVILY influenced by the original game with more of a bright neon focus making Rage 2 something fresh. The game really looks to take the best parts of Rage and turns it up to 11 while adding a whole slew of new stuff that makes Doom 2016 look tame.

It seems Avalanche studios has taken open world elements from the modern Far Cry and mixed it up here to produce something really fun. Some people have wondered how far Rage 2 gets to the Borderlands series and it looks from this gameplay likes it's nothing really obvious. Rage 2 has a bombast feel but it looks to pull more elements from Mad Max Fury Road than Borderlands. And frankly, if you're shooting for that post apocalypse wasteland feel you should be borrowing more from George Miller than 2K anyway.

I Am Excite

Not sure I can be more excited for Rage 2 but I am. One big aspect of fun for me with the original was Mutant Bash TV and I hope Rage 2 goes all in on that. There were only two Mutant Bash TV levels in Rage and one was tied up in DLC. Hopefully Rage 2 goes deeper here and Bethesda has stated they plan on dropping even more Rage 2 gameplay and I hope they focus on the ol' Mutant Bash. I know I did.

Riddles In The Dark

So this Gameplay footage is all crazy and great but it doesn't show the games HUD at all. I know that's a work in progress but it gives a bit more open feel than the actual game will have. iD isn't known for bad HUD's I just noticed it wasn't included and wondered what they might land on?

I also really wanted them to show a "(T)alk it out" option in gameplay where instead of punching people to human pulp you can sit down and calmly talk out a non-violent solution. The end of that might not be well but at least you could start things off with something a bit more diplomatic than a hello rocket blast to the face. Still, hello rocket blasts to the face can be fun in video games and watching people debate the merits of water rights might not make the most entertaining time.

The Future Of Cheerful Ghost - Our First Game Is Coming!

Travis and I have been working over the last two months and finally happy to announce that Cheerful Ghost is in development of it's first game! In 2018 we launched our games BBS featuring the best open source web games you can play as the first step in us getting to the point of creating our own games. Each of the games we launched on our BBS so far are single player games and we think that what makes Cheerful Ghost great is hanging out with other users so each game we create ourselves will be multiplayer at their core.

What Are You Making?

We're not quite ready to drop the full details of our upcoming game yet, but I do want to talk about a few things. Firstly, as I... Read All

The Future of Ray Tracing and Nvidia RTX In Quake 2

Nvidia focused heavily on its new ray tracing technology during its RTX showcase. When the technology is ubiquitous enough ray tracing will allow some incredibly impressive lighting that until now was limited to show floor demos and a render farm but recently someone modified Quake 2 to support ray tracing and the results are impressive and you can try right now(assuming you have an RTX video card). Since iD Software released the source for Quake, Quake 2, Quake 3, Doom, Doom 2, Doom 3, etc anyone can take that source and modify it and someone did to retrofit it to support Nvidia's new RTX tech. As always, Digital Foundry has an analysis video and if you are... Read All

The Playstation Classic Is Tried In the IUPG Courtroom

I think we were all very excited about the prospect of a Nintendo Classic styled Playstation that contained the best games of that era. When Sony dropped word that one was coming and that one launch title would be Final Fantasy VII the excitement was very palpable. As someone that missed the Playstation era of gaming I was excited to get one and learn what some of the best games from that system were. That said, when the final list of titles was released it was as if the air was let out of the fan excitement balloon and when the Playstation Classic dropped it didn't land well.

I've decided to not write about the Playstation Classic launch until now because I haven't... Read All

Nintendo Announces Dr Mario World Game on Mobile

Nintendo is partnering up with mobile developer LINE to make a new entry in the Dr. Mario series for mobile called Dr. Mario World. We do know that the game will support iOS and Android and be free to play with in-app purchases. As a long-time fan of Dr. Mario this is great news and if LINE can translate the awesome puzzler elements to phones Dr. Mario World could be a perfect fit. I'm still very curious how the Mario Kart free to play smartphone game will turn out that's coming out this year and am optimistic about that but if i'm being honest, Dr. Mario seems like a better fit to me. After the amazing success of Mario Kart 8 and then 8 Deluxe on the Switch a... Read All

Travis Admin wrote on 02/01/2019 at 03:31am

I'll check out Mario Kart and Dr. Mario on mobile, but as soon as I hit a wall where I have to wait for a recharge or pay microtransactions to keep playing I'll uninstall them.

However if that's how they're planning to monetize it, if they have the opportunity to buy the game outright and skip the free-to-play trappings I'll buy it if it's fun. Super Mario Run is probably my favorite mobile game of all time, and I gladly payed $10 for it and would do the same for these if the option is there and I won't have other microtransaction blocks.

Travis Admin wrote on 02/01/2019 at 03:50am

That's pretty much my rule for any mobile game.

1. Play it
2. Have I hit any artificial progress blocks that I *must* pay microtransactions or wait to continue? If so, uninstall
3. If there are microtransaction blocks but you can pay a one time fee to move past them, is the price worth it for the fun? If not, uninstall
4. If I have gotten this far, I let the game sit for 24 hours and if I kinda don't care about playing it, I just uninstall and forget about it.

I know the gems/coins/other fake currency to get past wait timers is like the bread and butter of mobile free-to-play games but I'd take loot boxes over that predatory crap any day, and you know how I feel about loot boxes.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/01/2019 at 03:51am

Yeah, I do.

I think it could be a lot like Candy Crush or Bejeweled Blitz you have some kind of energy and can wait or pay to continue. It's not too bad and usually if you play it for a handful of minutes it's fine. I played a bit of Bejeweled that way and it wasn't bad at all.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 02/01/2019 at 05:11pm

I am hopeful. I agree with you @Travis, Super Mario Run is one of my all time favorite mobile games. Well worth the $10.

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Cheerful Ghost Radio Episode 48 : The Glass Is Half Split

In this episode we tackle the conclusion to M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable trilogy, Glass. If you haven't seen the film yet, beware, the last half of this episode is full of spoilers, but we'll warn you about them when we're done with our monthly playing/watching segment. Spoiler alert: Mr. Glass sees dead people! David Dunn was a ghost the whole time!

The Latest Playstation Indie Bundle Is A Fun Mix of Games

The Humble Bundle has released a lot of great game bundles and the latest Playstation Indie Games bundle is a must buy if you own a PS4 and wanted a few more games to play. It's a pretty wide mix of titles such as Grim Fandango Remastered, The Bards Tale remastered, Inner Space, Broken Age, The Talos Principle, Wasteland 2, Layers of Fear, Shadow Warrior 2 and Killing Floor 2 and is $15 to get them all. $15 is a great price for just one of these games and considering some of the proceeds go to charity, even better.