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(06/16/19 4:00pm)
By Blake Chapman
Christmas for gamers comes twice a year. The obvious one is the day that jelly-bellied dude in the red overcoat comes rolling down your chimney to deliver all those new consoles, games, and accessories. The second instance happens over the span of just one week near the start of June - E3 2019. This year promised a plethora of information on previously announced games as well as surprise reveals of unexpected titles. However, major players like EA and Sony were missing from the traditional conference lineup bringing the total down to only five true presenters ranging from Xbox to Square Enix. Even with that noticeable divot in content shown off live across YouTube and Twitch, there were still plenty predictions to make and expectations to be dashed.
Here are the gifts I was wishing would show up under my E3 Christmas tree and what I actually received.
(05/22/19 4:00pm)
by Tanner Kinney
Picture this: the year is (roughly) 2007, or so. Nine-year-old Tanner Kinney and his family recently purchased a brand-spanking used PlayStation 2 Slim, along with Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves and War of the Monsters. A friend down the road has a few PS2 games as well, and he occasionally brings them over so Tanner can try them. One of these games was a PlayStation One game titled Final Fantasy VII (FFVII), an ugly looking game that I didn’t understand most of despite being a fairly competent young reader. But, it was loads of fun to play, even though we didn’t have a memory card for it and couldn’t make it past Midgar.
https://youtu.be/Ru9zzFEdGWk
A year or so later, another friend loans us a spare copy of FFVII and a memory card so we can finally experience the game in full without having to keep the console on overnight. I never made it past Disc 1 (I would always get lost after leaving Midgar), but my brother was able to play through the game and I experienced it with him. It was fantastic, at least what I remember of it. I especially loved Yuffie’s storyline and character arc, since she was (and still is) my favorite character in the game. Even when I got older and edgy in the “popular-thing-is-bad-because-it-is-popular” sense, I couldn’t deny that Final Fantasy VII was a great game.
Since then, I’ve played through nearly every single mainline Final Fantasy title in one (or multiple) of their various releases. I have my own personal favorites, of course, but other than Final Fantasy II (Japan) and the entirety of the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all of them. I subscribe to and even sometimes play Final Fantasy XIV, and I spent the entirety of the week after release of Final Fantasy XV just playing through the game in full, nearly non-stop. That was the first game I ever got a platinum trophy for (although, that’s without the DLC). Final Fantasy is a series that means a lot to me, even with some strange narratives and a nonsense understanding of time travel.
(03/24/19 6:08pm)
[embed]https://soundcloud.com/user-519363288/how-its-played-s3e4-bowser-takes-over-nintendo[/embed]
Welcome to this week's episode of How It's Played! This week we are discussing the recent change in leadership at our family friendly, and fan favorite company, Nintendo. Reggie Fils-Aime recently decided to retire from being Nintendo's President. How will this affect the company and what will happen from here on out? All of this and more on this week's episode of How It's Played.
Hosted by: Eli Sokeland, Tanner Kinney, Blake Chapman
Edited by: Ashley Curry
Graphic by: Daley Wilhelm
Thumbnail by: Malia Hutton
(02/07/19 10:00pm)
by David Kurzendoerfer
The opinions and views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinion of Byte or Byte's editorial board.
Piranha Plant has finally been released for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and fans couldn’t be more excited. First teased during a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Nintendo Direct on November 1st, fans were split on whether or not Piranha Plant would fit in with the rest of the cast. Now that it is finally here, however, it is widely accepted as a welcome addition to the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster.
Piranha Plant first appeared in World 1-2 of the original Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Entertainment System all the way back in 1985 as a normal enemy for Mario to avoid or defeat on his way to save Princess Toadstool. Since then, the Piranha Plant has been in most other Mario games in some form or another, but its appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate marks its first game as a playable character. So far, competitive players are unsure of how good Piranha Plant will be in the meta. From what they can tell, Piranha Plant lacks many vital features of a well-rounded character, such as mobility, reliable combos, and a cohesive moveset. This doesn’t mean Piranha Plant isn’t fun, it just means a Piranha Plant player might have to work a little harder on perfecting their character than most other players
Its moveset consists mostly of completely original moves for its normal attacks, most of which are physical attacks with its head or pot. Its flurry attack, up tilt, up smash, forward smash, up aerial, and all of its throws are attacks with its head. Its down smash, forward aerial, downward aerial, and dash attack are all attacks with the pot. The rest of its normal attacks involve its leaves, such as its neutral aerial, 1-2 jab, and down tilt. The only attack that does not use its head, pot, or leaves is its back aerial, where the Piranha Plant spits a small explosion behind it. This is likely a reference to the many fire-breathing Piranha Plants that appear in the Super Mario series.
Its special attacks originate mostly from abilities it has had in various Super Mario games. Its neutral special, Ptooie, comes from a special attack it could do in Super Mario Bros. 3, where the plant blows a spiked ball into the air and hurls it at Mario. Its side special, Poison Breath, comes from an attack used by a Putrid Piranha in the oft-overlooked Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Its down special, Long-Stem Strike, is likely based on its first appearance in Super Mario Bros., where it would take Mario by surprise by attacking him from within a seemingly harmless pipe. Finally, its up special, Piranhacopter, is based on a Piranha Plant enemy in Super Mario World for the SNES, where a Piranha Plant would completely leave its pipe to attack Mario from far below him. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, however, the plant spins its leaves and carries it upwards, pot and all.
Many fans are still disappointed that a character slot was given to a basic Super Mario enemy instead of a character like Shadow the Hedgehog or Isaac from Golden Sun. While this may be true, it does prove that Masahiro Sakurai, the creator of the Super Smash Bros. series and the director of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, is limited by nothing when it comes to what characters he can add. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, you can play as an old NES peripheral called R.O.B., whose only attacks back in the day were moving extremely slowly and stacking objects. You can play as Mr. Game & Watch, a character playable on small LCD screens with no face or discernable features. You can even play as a non-unique potted plant with more personality than Corrin. Piranha Plant’s inclusion should get fans excited for the nearly limitless possibilities of future DLC fighters for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Piranha Plant proves that nobody and nothing is off the table for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
(10/11/18 10:23pm)
[embed]https://soundcloud.com/user-519363288/the-coven-s5e2-all-parts-of-bowsette[/embed]
We're back witches, with another magical episode of The Coven podcast. This week, we're looking at Bowsette. What is going on with the internet's explosion over the sexualization of a female, personified Bowser? What does this event mean for the internet and why did it happen? All of this and more on this week's episode of The Coven.
Hosted by: Ashley Curry, Dimitri Napoleon, Peyton Bousman
Edited by: Shwetha Sundarrajan
Graphic by: Daley Wilhelm
Thumbnail by: Katherine Sinkovics
(10/10/18 7:51pm)
[embed]https://soundcloud.com/user-519363288/how-its-played-s2e2-sony-caves-to-cross-platform[/embed]
In this week's episode of How It's Played, we are discussing cross-platform gaming. Sony finally caved to allowing cross-platform gaming in Fortnite. What does this mean for the gaming community? What all does cross-platform entail? All of this and more on this week's episode of How It's Played.
Hosted by: Eli Sokeland, Brad Killion, Dylan Bateson
Edited by: Shay Dennis
Graphic by: Daley Wilhelm
Thumbnail by: Tt Shinkan
(06/03/18 8:30pm)
By Tanner Kinney
Disclaimer: This review is of the PC version and was conducted on a PC with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 960, i7, 8GBs of RAM.
Castlevania is one of the original platformer franchises and a legend among fans of the genre. Yet Castlevania, along with its NES brother-in-arms Mega Man, was mishandled by the publisher for the longest time until eventually just getting put in cryostasis until someone could figure out what to do with it. While Capcom has decided to revive Mega Man in a big way with Mega Man 11, Konami has let their respective franchise fade to dust, with only a pachinko game being released under the Castlevania name. The producer behind Castlevania, Koji Igarashi, made a Kickstarter to launch their own spiritual successor to Castlevania, named Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. This isht similar to when Keiji Inafune swindled desperate Mega Man fans into funding a poorly managed rush-job called Mighty Number 9.
Fortunately, if Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (developed by IntiCreates, rather than Igarashi himself) is anything to judge by, the future is looking much brighter for fans of classic Castlevania.