Tagged: gaming peripherals

Rolling balls and shouting orders in Odama (Gamecube)

It’s Friday night, and cries of “rally”, “march left”, “advance”, “fall back”, and “press forward”, spill out of an open window onto the street. Every battle order is met with a cheer, as if from a group of soldiers. Who is this charismatic leader, managing troops in the dead of night, out of a small flat no less? Well, it’s me! Not graced with the ability to command battle-hardened soldiers in my day-to-day life, I get my thrills these days from Odama, the pinball-military simulation set in the warring-states period in medieval Japan. Continue reading →

Multiplayer mayhem with Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures (Gamecube)

So many games, so little time. Despite not being active on the blog, there’s been no shortage of new games at home. There’ve been some hits and some misses, and thanks to my recent peripheral obsession I now possess a vast array of Gamecube accessories including a pair of bongos and a microphone on top of the Gamecube to GBA cables I got for this game! (Updates on those forthcoming.)

One big hit I’ve been dying to write about and get out of my system is the Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures. Wow, does this game capitalise on the potential of the Gamecube-GBA connectivity. It makes for a startling contrast with Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, which has a basic 2D map on the GBA screen, much like Wind Waker’s Tingle Tuner. Four Swords Adventures moves the action to the GBA screen whenever you enter a house or cave, and not only are the graphics, sounds and gameplay the same but it moves between the two screens utterly seamlessly. It’s a pleasant change to Crystal Chronicles, which despite a simple display manages to feel like it’s brushing up against the limits of the connection. Continue reading →