I'm having way too much fun taking screenshots while playing Tomodachi Life

Would you believe me if I told you I've snapped more screenshots while playing Tomodachi Life than I have while playing any other 3DS title?

Well, it's true. Or at least I think it is.

As for why that is, the only worthwhile response is that this portable "life sim" throws players into so many weird, wacky and funny situations that you can't help but try to capture them in a snapshot.

Cases in point: the following photos of the babies that have been born to Rainbow Island's residents thus far.

The above portrait is of one of my Internet pals, Hayden Scott-Baron (aka docky), his wife, Cher, and their newborn girl, Chloe.

The shot above is of Nikki (of Swapnote fame), her husband, Bill Trinen, and their baby girl, the controversially named Genesis.

And here (above) we see Link keeping a watchful eye on his (and wife Zelda's) adorable baby boy.

Sadly, "adorable" isn't the first word I'd use to describe the first child--a girl, Claire--born to me and Ganondorf.

Both of us are hoping she'll eventually grow into her face. And learn to smile once in a while. Anyway, she's now traveling the world--or waiting to travel the world, at least.

Rainbow Island's kids aren't the only things worth capturing in photographs. Other photo-worthy sights include the tropical locale's many fights--with the one above being between former Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi and Metroid's Samus Aran.

An artistic mash-up I'd never considered before now: Kirby x Zelda

Before today, I could've envisioned a couple of game series being successfully combined artistically with Kirby--Mario and Pokémon among them--but The Legend of Zelda? Not even a consideration for me--until I came across the example below, of course.

The Zelda elements all can be found within the giant Kirby, by the way. Some are images while others are text.



This painting--made using posca, which is supposed to be some sort of water-based marker--is yet another product of artist and blogger Oskunk, by the way. To see more samples of his work, check out custom-art.blogspot.com.

For a good time, call ...

Remember this post, in which I shined a light on the peculiar pieces produced by artist Kasey Tararuj for the recent 3NES Show (held at the Bottleneck Gallery in Brooklyn, New York)?

Well, today's post is devoted to a few more pieces that were produced for that show, although these pieces--which also focus on Peach, Samus and Zelda and are titled, "For a Good Time, Call Peach," etc.--aren't quite as "safe for work" as the ones Tararuj concocted.

As such, I'm only going to show an extremely cropped version of one of them "above the fold," as it were. To see them in all of their appealingly smutty glory, click on "read more" below.

Yep, another art post: 'Bombs Away,' 'Hyrule Intentions' and 'Tale of Two Brothers'

Like any respectable gay gamer, I've long had a soft spot for female protagonists. In particular, I've had a soft spot for Nintendo's leading ladies--Peach, Samus and Zelda, especially.

All of which should help explain why I went a big gaga after I came across artist Kasey Tararuj's uniquely styled portraits (above and below) of the above-mentioned women this past weekend.

Each piece was produced for the 3NES Show ("a tribute to three of Nintendo's most popular games") held at the Bottleneck Gallery in Brooklyn, New York, a few weeks ago.

If you like any or all of them as much as I do, I'd highly recommend checking out Tararuj's blog, One-Eyed Girl, for closer looks at them.

Specifically, additional shots of her take on Peach (titled "Tale of Two Brothers") can be seen here, while more shots of her Samus and Zelda portraits ("Bombs Away" and "Hyrule Intentions") can be seen here and here, respectively.

And if you're really interested in them? Head on over to the Bottleneck Gallery's online shop and buy one or more of them. ("Bombs Away" can be purchased here, "Hyrule Intentions" here and "Tale of Two Brothers" here.)

See also: 'Cherry on Top' and 'Dreamy Mushroom Munchers'

(Gaming) sisters doin' it for themselves

I've said this before, and I'm going to say it again: I want another Super Princess Peach game, damn it!

I'd want said sequel to fix some of the problems I had with the original, of course, but even if this new title retained the first one's issues--too easy by far, and with a some-call-it-sexist gameplay hook--I'd still probably pick up a copy (especially if it were released for the 3DS).

Anyway, I bring up all of that because the following illustration, produced by artist Glen Brogan, reminds me of that much-maligned platformer--or maybe I should say it makes me ponder some of the improvements I'd like to see in its make-believe follow-up.

Brogan worked up the illustration for the recently opened 3NES Show at Brooklyn's Bottleneck Gallery (in runs through Sept. 22), by the way. Two others were produced along with it: one of which stars Samus Aran and Mother Brain and one of which stars Zelda and Ganon. (Both of them can be seen at albinoraven7.blogspot.com).

"My thoughts going into these pieces were that I wanted to stick closely to the original NES games, as opposed to branching out into subsequent games," Brogan says, "and I wanted to base them around the female characters in each game."

I'd say he did a pretty bang-up job in both regards, wouldn't you?

LEGO Hieroglyph Link

I may not be as interested in The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds as some 3DS owners, but that doesn't mean I'm completely disinterested in it.

For instance, I really like the feature that allows players to transform Link into a hieroglyph that can move along walls to reach new areas.

Flickr user lego27bricks recently used that ability as inspiration for the following creation, which, as his username implies, was pieced together with LEGO blocks.

A few in-the-works photos of this unique piece of art can be seen here, here and here, for those of you who are curious.

Are any of you planning to pick up A Link Between Worlds, by the way? If so, why is that? Are you big fans of the Zelda franchise, for instance, or do you have fond memories of A Link to the Past?

As for me, although I consider A Link to the Past to be one of my all-time favorite games, I'm still on the fence when it comes to this follow-up--in large part because of what I consider to be its "iffy" art style.

Missing since 1986

You've got to love German artist Barto's latest creation--aka the cheeky "Have you seen this girl?" poster seen below (and here)--which can be found plastered in front of a subway map near you (should you happen to live in or around Düsseldorf).



Oh, what I'd give for Barto to turn this into a series featuring such luminous "lost girls" as Princess Peach/Toadstool and, er, all of the other pixelated damsels in distress that I currently can't remember.

L is for Link, Z is for Zelda ...

Upon seeing the print below, it should be pretty clear to just about everybody that Houston-based artist (and blogger) Lizzy House is a big Nintendo fan.

After all, out of the 26 images that appear in the following alphabet print, three of them (L, N and Z) are related to the company that's best known for introducing Link, Mario and Pokemon to the world.

House is selling a limited number (125) of these prints via her etsy shop for $50 apiece (plus shipping). Each one is 18 inches by 24 inches and is printed on archival paper.

To see more examples of House's abilities, check out her blog, her etsy shop or her Flickr photostream.

Hey Nintendo, where's my 'New Legend of Zelda'?

You know what I find strange? I find it strange that the folks at Nintendo have yet to release a back-to-its-roots Zelda game (à la New Super Mario Bros. and New Super Mario Bros. Wii).

Instead, they seem to be obsessed with either recreating Ocarina of Time (see: Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword) or re-imagining Wind Waker (see: Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks).

Personally, I'd prefer it if the company's designers and programmers took the series back to its 16-bit glory days and produced a game that brought to mind A Link to the Past. It wouldn't have to be sprite-based, of course--although I certainly wouldn't complain if it were--but I do think it should use a top-down perspective similar to the one seen in the above-mentioned SNES (or Super Famicom, if that's your thing) classic.

"Watch Out for the Octopus 2" by folkfiddle

Going back to this so-called New Legend of Zelda's graphics for a second: Sure, the game could ape the New Super Mario Bros. titles and feature acceptably-crafted-yet-somewhat-boring polygonal characters and environments, but I'd much rather see Nintendo's developers push the envelope a bit. For example, they could make it appear as though everything in the game were created using clay or fabric (à la Kirby's Epic Yarn). Or they could turn to the Paper Mario series--or the image above--for inspiration and make it look like a pop-up book.

That said, I'll gladly accept slightly uninspired visuals if it means I'll get to play a "modern" Zelda game that feels and plays like A Link to the Past.

What do you think? Would you like the folks at Nintendo to release New Legend of Zelda for the 3DS, Wii U or both? If so, how would you want the game to look and feel?

Is Link more interested in finding rupees than he is in saving Zelda?

Artist Glen Brogan (aka Albino Raven) seems to think so, and after reading the story behind the piece, below (and here), he produced for the upcoming 8-Bit Champions show in Paris, I have to say I agree with him.



Here's the above-mentioned story, by the way: "I've been playing a lot of Zelda lately as I unwind in the evenings, so it was the game I chose to illustrate. There's a lot of funny stuff you can point out about Zelda games, and one of my favorites is how there's always an amazing amount of side quests to undertake while you're supposed to be saving the princess from imminent danger.

"The dialog in the game usually reflects this, with lines like 'Hurry, Link, was must head to the next temple! There is no time to waste!' And yet if you want to get a few extra goodies to aid you in that temple, you'll need to spend a couple hours at the pond leisurely fishing. All the while Princess Zelda is presumably suffering at the hands of Ganon.

"So, I tried to illustrate that idea, showing link more interested in finding money than saving the princess. I also tried to work in the fact that it's funny to me how Link goes around breaking stuff in people's houses and stealing what's inside."

To see more examples of Brogan's art, check out his blog and his store.

The pixelated woman of Robin Williams' dreams

I'm sure you've already heard that actor Robin Williams named his daughter after the titular heroine of The Legend of Zelda series. (If not, well, I guess you know it now!)

The illustration below--produced by Berlin-based artist, Barto (aka bartotainment)--appears to have been inspired by that fact.

For more examples of Barto's work, check out his Flickr photostream.

See also: 'Robin Williams' beard, daughter star in adorable Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D ad' as well as 'Real life Dr. Mario' and 'Somewhere over the Mega Man'

That's some sexy box art

Don't quote me on this, but I believe the following piece of art will be featured, in some form or fashion, on the cover of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D when it's released this spring.

I also like the looks of the box art that's being prepped for two of Nintendo's other early-ish 3DS releases: Kid Icarus Uprising and Pilotwings Resort. (See both box arts, and many others, here.)

If you're at all interested in the 3DS--and who isn't?--may I suggest checking out andriasang.com and tinycartridge.com? (Oh, and check out this Kid Icarus Uprising video, too.)

'Z is for Zelda'

Artist Carlos Ramos recently shared the following image--created, he says, "a million years ago"--on his tumblr site.

Oh, and don't bother giving him a hard time about the fact that the focus of the drawing isn't, in fact, Zelda. In a note that accompanies the image he says, "Yes, I know it’s Link--but ‘L is for Link’ wasn’t as catchy."

(Via boingboing.net)

'I hear a harp above my head'

Mikaël "Orioto" Aguirre has posted a new piece of digital art in his deviantart.com gallery and, well, it's pretty much amazing. (Click on the image below to get a better look at it.)



Does it make anyone else want to play through A Link to the Past once more?

See also: 'Drawing inspiration from video games: An interview with the artist known as Orioto'

The Legend of Zelda's working title was 'Adventure Mario' (and other little-known Nintendo facts that will blow your mind)

Nintendo of Europe recently updated its website with a new "Iwata Asks" interview which focuses on the "handheld history" of one of the company's most famous franchises: The Legend of Zelda. This time around, Satoru Iwata, president/CEO of Nintendo Co., Ltd., chats with Eiji Aonuma, Toshihiko Nakago and Takashi Tezuka.

The trio share a slew of previously unknown facts related to the long-running series, including the one mentioned in the headline above. (Apparently, early documents included the title "Adventure" as well as "Adventure Mario.") A few others:

* According to Nakago, The Legend of Zelda's second quest was the result of a mistake made by Tezuka. “I created the data exactly in line with [the map], but then Tezuka-san made a mistake and only used half of the data. I said, ‘Tezuka-san, there’s only half here. Where did the other half go?’ and he was like, 'What?! Oops, I messed up…’ But Miyamoto-san said it was fine just like that. So, using the half of the memory that was left over, we decided to create the Second Quest."

* The characters in Link’s Awakening were inspired by those in David Lynch's TV series, Twin Peaks, according to Tezuka. "At the time, Twin Peaks was rather popular. The drama was all about a small number of characters in a small town. I wanted to make something that, while it would be small enough in scope to easily understand, it would have deep and distinctive characteristics."

* The Zelda games created by Capcom (Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons) started out as a remake of the title that started it all. "At that time, Yoshiki Okamoto was at Capcom, and he wanted to make a Zelda game," Tezuka says. "The plan was to create a remake of the first The Legend of Zelda. Then, while we were talking about it ... I could sense their enthusiasm for the series, so I thought we could trust them with it. We had them make Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages."

What is it with Nintendo's inability to animate skirts?

In the run up to the release of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Shigeru Miyamoto mentioned that Princess Peach wasn't playable in the game because it would have been too difficult to animate her dress.

The programmers behind New Super Mario Bros. Wii aren't the only ones who find skirts problematic, it seems. In a recent interview with Famitsu magazine, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks producer Eiji Aonuma said the following when asked about Zelda's appearance in the game:

"People on the staff have wanted to have Zelda in the game for ages, but if we did that, then her skirt becomes an issue. Having girls in dresses in an action game is kind of hard to deal with. That's how we got the idea of having her body stolen and her soul going inside Phantom Guardians."