1UP's Retro and RPG Blogs

[Daniel Primed]

I probably missed it, but it seems like nobody has mentioned this on the boards yet. Pretty much since this takeover business at 1UP.com, Jeremy Parish and other staff have given their 'retronauts' blog a massive shot in the arm while also opening up a new RPG themed blog of equal stature. I must say, these blogs are fantastic, so check them out people;

1UP's Retro Gaming Blog

1UP's RPG Blog

[racketboy]

The retro one's pretty nice -- glad to see they are taking a different approach than I am

My only complaint is that they kinda have too much content.
I don't have time to read every post. So I have to skim and then pick and choose which ones to actually read.
I guess they have a lot of free time over there at 1UP

[Daniel Primed]

Yeah I agree, I've been trying to read as much as possible but there is an overabundance of content, It's a bit of a struggle actually. I do think the main site could benefit from some similiar articles to what they have, albeit fully fleshed out to 'feature' size. If I come up with anything, I'll let you know.

[RadarScope1]

Holy crap. I didn't quite realize the Retronauts blog was that robust. I thought it was mainly just the podcast. I see what you guys are saying. Ten huge posts in the last THREE days? At least no one can accuse them of padding it with bad content, though. Parish and Co. are awesome. I will miss Shane on the podcast, though. Say what you will about the guy -- but he has a hell of a lot of game knowledge going way back.

[Jrecee]

Pretty good entertaining, although there were a crapload of posts about that retro nintendo ds game. Anyway, I somehow ended up getting linked from there to a super mario wiki, and god, overzealous game nerds write WAY too much and seem to just randomly make shit up. Example:

"Goombas were a staple force during Bowser's attack on Princess Peach's Castle, as seen in the games Super Mario 64 (and Super Mario 64 DS). Like other relatively recent campaigns by the Koopa Troop, Goombas were not deployed in high numbers like in Bowser's early invasions. However, that being said, Goombas did occupy a number of painting worlds, including Bob-omb Battlefield, Shifting Sand Land, Tiny-Huge Island, and Tall Tall Mountain (among others).

Really? How the hell did anyone get all that from the mario 64 instruction manual.

[Ack]

You mean you don't know about the 52nd Goomba Infantry Battalion? Seriously, in the war against the Mushroom Kingdom, no other of Bowser's forces has seen such heavy loss and devastation. While some divisions of Bowser's military met bombardment from turtle shell blasts from Yoshi mortar spit, and some of the 101st Airborne Koopa Troopa lost their lives in the Great Battle of 1-3 to Gen. Luigi's Fire Flower, these pale in comparison to the devastation visited upon the 52nd.

You see, the 52nd was the only Goomba infantry battalion brave enough to face Mario head on. Originally planning on hiding in Lemmy's Tower while their enemy was bombarded with Bullet Bill fire from Roy Koopa's nearby airship, they were forced to reshape their strategy when Princess Toadstool brilliantly crossed Roy's T while wearing a raccoon outfit. The 52nd, terrified at the thought of a prolonged siege in Lemmy's Tower with a dreaded Mario at the gates, flooded forth, attacking head on, hordes upon hordes of loyal and valiant Goombas willingly marching to their deaths for the glory of Bowser! The battle raged on fiercely for all of a few seconds before the thrice-damned Mario accidentally tripped across a hidden Question Box and discovered an Invincibility Star. After that, the Goombas were doomed. The casualty rate may have been as high as 90%, with those spared only because the Mario suddenly became interested in a vine he found and climbed off into the heavens. No one is sure why.

So every year, on November 21, the survivors of the 52nd Goomba Infantry Battalion come together to share the memories of camaraderie they shared before so many faced their deaths in glorious combat. So the famous Goomba saying goes:

"Goombas are not to reason why. Goombas are to do and die."

[Jrecee]

Lmao. You should write for wikipedia. I found some more gold on the sonic 2 page:

"While cruising over the ocean in his antique biplane, the Tornado, Sonic notices a small island particularly lush with greenery. He flies down for a bit of vacation time, closely followed by an unseen figure that lands on the opposite end of the island... The tiny resort turns out to be West Side Island, which, as the folklore goes, was once the home of a flourishing civilization. The people of the island utilized the power of seven mysterious stones for the advancement of their society. However, their prosperity lead to avarice, which did not sit well with the gods. The displeased deities reclaimed the stones and sealed them away.

After a few days on the island, it occurs to Sonic that he's being followed. His pursuer is a young fox with two tails who, upon being discovered, dashes into the shade of a nearby tree. Sonic ignores him and zooms off, but the fox whirls his two tails like a propeller and follows the blue stranger at full speed. Sonic is impressed both with the fox's tenacity and his ability to keep up, so he decides to let him tag along. He learns that his new companion is named Miles Prower, though the animals of the island call him "Tails" after his unique mutation.

Early one afternoon, Tails discovers the Tornado sitting on a beach. Being fascinated by all things mechanical, the young fox eagerly runs up to the machine for a thorough investigation, but shyly pulls back when he spots Sonic snoozing in the shade of a wing. His awkward moment is interrupted by a huge explosion from the island's interior. Sonic snaps up to see the forest ablaze and robots scouring the area. It doesn't take the blue hero three guesses to figure out who's behind the disruption: Dr. Robotnik, who had discreetly followed Sonic onto West Side Island, is now tearing the place apart in search of the seven Chaos Emeralds. He needs fuel for his Death Egg, a planet-sized space station with unthinkable power. Sonic and Tails take off to locate the Emeralds before Robotnik and squash his evil ambition once more."

So. . . was that a summary of the 400 page novelization of the great greek tragedy, Sonicuus? I honestly don't know how this stuff actually stays up, it's practically fan fiction. Won't be long before Sonic and Tails' steamy love affair during their drunken evening at the casino night zone is included.

[Daniel Primed]

Holy crap. I didn't quite realize the Retronauts blog was that robust.

I think it's only been so content heavy since about the time of the merger. The RPG blog is the same, crazyness.