Pokemon US Nationals 2013: Help Wanted-"sticky DOT comics"

I'm looking for some help with an interview I'm planning to do at US Nationals:

First volume of Pokemon: Rival Destinies on DVD releases September 10th

The latest Pokemon DVD set has appeared on Amazon.The set is slated to be released on September 10th, representing a nearly four-month gap from the last volume of Black & White. By comparison, the four volumes of Black & White were released at approximately two-month intervals.

The Nintendo Experience-Greenfield, WI

On Saturday, June 15^th, I got a chance to head over to the Best Buy in Greenfield, WI for the “Nintendo Experience” event. Attendees at this event got a chance to try one of the following games: 

-Super Mario 3D World
-Zelda Wind Waker HD
-Mario Kart 8
-Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

I arrived at the store at around 11:15 am, at which point there were a handful of people already waiting in line. This Best Buy featured Nintendo Zone Wireless, so while waiting I was able to watch an episode of Pokémon: Rival Destinies and browse the 3DS eShop. I also talked about some of the games with people who had been there on Wednesday. The Nintendo representatives (there appeared to be three-two male, one female) set up the console, as well as some 3DS systems with previously released games.

Since I was only able to play one game (Super Mario 3D World), most of my comments will be based on observing other players. To give some context, here is a list of how many sessions (counting my own) were run for each game while I was present:

Super Mario 3D World: 3
Zelda Wind Waker HD: 6
Mario Kart 8: 9
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze: 2

It should be noted that the number of players also varies by demo. 3D World used four players, Mario Kart and Donkey Kong each used two, and Zelda only used one. Adjusting for that:

Zelda Wind Waker HD

Author’s note-I did not play the original game on GameCube, so my familiarity with that version is quite limited.

There were two options for demos of this game. Players could choose to either play a tutorial from early in the game, or fight the boss battle against Helmaroc King. The tutorial shows off excellent lighting effects, with sunlight coming in through windows and a wonderful haze effect over the ocean. The boss fight showed off the ability to have a large number of feathers on screen simultaneously, much like in the original. In both demos, controls appeared to be easily understood by the players.

Mario Kart 8

This demo consisted of the first two tracks from a GP race. Players were allowed to select from twelve available characters (notable returning characters include Waluigi and Toadette), and each race contained twelve participants and two laps. As shown in the trailer, players could race on the walls or upside down, depending on the layout of the track. Lighting and coloring were both very good (the exhaust from a boost was particularly well done). Most of the standard power-ups were present, but I did not see lightning or the blue shell, though those may still be in the final game. One notable change is that when a player fell off the course, they were placed back on without a fade to black (similar to the original SNES game).

Super Mario 3D World

For this game, participants were allowed to sample two levels from a selection of five. The first level I played featured a number of rotating cylinders, as well as the Cat Mario power-up, which I found intuitive to use. Unlike in the New Super Mario Bros games, where the power-ups pop out all at once, in this game each hit on the block generates a power-up. Additional power-ups can be stored reserve that players can access by pressing a button on the controller.

The second level I played used the clear pipe mechanic where players can guide their character . At one point we entered a "Coin Heaven" area in which I encountered a potted sleeping Piranha Plant. I picked it up (somewhat unintentionally), and as I carried it along it ate additional plants and eventually a green star (similar to the Star Coins in other Mario games) at the end of the area.

Other notes:

-Starmen are now "infectious", in that if an invincible player touches another player, that player will also become invincible.

-One of the isometric bonus areas had a baseball that could be picked up and thrown.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

This demo was played using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. There were four levels to choose from (both sessions I observed played the same level). As shown in the trailer, players are required at times to pull objects out of the ground (the players I observed seemed to be unaware of this mechanic). In the case of the level I saw, it was used to manipulate the field so that some platforms would come down. The level also featured a water segment and a portion traveling through trees via a series of barrels. At the end of the level, there was a barrel that cycled between various items. When it was hit, the level was completed and the player received the bonus shown.

Other notes on the event:

-The staff was well-trained and very knowledgeable (the female seemed to have actually met Reggie from NOA).

-Following the demo, players were allowed to pick either a foam Luigi hat or a Luigi coin as a gift.

-All four games looked considerably better than their video versions on the eShop (probably a result of the constraints put on internet video-it's also likely the TV at the store is better than the one I have at home).

Pokemon TCG Spring Battle Roads 2013: Rockford, IL

At a recent Pokemon TCG Battle Road tournament, I got a chance to interview one of the players:




Cards featured in this video:

-Snorlax (PS)
-Dowsing Machine (PS)

Are we entering the “Rival Destinies Gap”?

This article is a follow-up to the “Arceus Gap” video I posted last year. Like in that video, I am not attempting to blame or vilify anyone for this apparent delay.

Last Tuesday, volume four of Pokémon Black and White was released on DVD. Unlike previous seasons, which had been released over the course of a year, these four volumes were released in a seven-month span. I theorized that they were trying to make up for the “Arceus Gap” and get closer to the pre-Galactic Battles trend of releasing the first set of a season toward the end of that season’s run. Following this pattern, volume one of Rival Destinies should be slated for release in July, however a search of Amazon, Viz.com, and WBShop.com shows nothing on the horizon.

What happened? Well, there are a number of possibilities, but the theory I have goes back to February of this year, when it was announced that Mewtwo would be showing up in movie sixteen. This may have prompted Warner Bros. to attempt to get the first movie back on the market (as you may recall, the first three movies have been out of print in North America for several years), which may be responsible for the delay in getting Rival Destinies out. All of this is supposition, but it seems like a reasonable explanation to me. Of course, it’s also possible that this is just a planned momentary pause between seasons and DVDs will resume later this summer-only time will tell.

Pokemon TCG Plasma Freeze Prerelease: Madison, WI

Here's another interview from a recent Pokemon TCG Prerelease event:




Cards featured in this video:

-Shadow Triad
-Team Plasma Badge
-Float Stone

Poke Press website:
http://pokepress.blogspot.com/

PIRN Station Page:
http://www.live365.com/stations/pirn

PIRN Web Site:
http://pirnradio.blogspot.com/

Not affiliated with an official Pokemon entity.

Interview: Melissa Lefton (“Dance, Dance, Dance” from “Meloetta’s Moonlight Serenade”)

Me: Hi, I’m Steven Reich, here at the PokéPress/PIRN studios in Madison, Wisconsin. I’m on the phone with Melissa Lefton, who is the performer of “Dance, Dance, Dance”, the ending theme song from the Pokémon movie short, “Meloetta’s Moonlight Serenade”, and Melissa we just have a few questions. First off, where are you from originally, and how did you get into music?

Melissa: I am for Chicago, Illinois, and I started to do music, because one day during my last year of college I was looking through the Village Voice, and I found this ad that a producer had placed. He wanted to create the next big act, and I answered it, and I feigned enough self-possession and confidence to land the gig, and a year later we [the band was called “Product”] were signed to Arista Records.

Me: However, that didn’t quite work out the way you had hoped-you sort of floated around a bit-how did that go?

Melissa: Well, our record was shelved because the music was too controversial-it was for kids, but it was about all sorts of unsavory subject matter. Then there was a period of kind of trying to figure out what to do next, and then I became a solo act and made a new demo with my boyfriend at the time, who was also a producer. Then I got signed by Jive, based on again a feigned-or perhaps maybe by this point maybe some degree of actual talent. Then there was about three years of not knowing how to market me because again I stuck to my guns, and I was making it very controversial-it had sort of sarcastic, dry, dark subject matter, and they didn’t know how to place it. So, they sent me to LA to be an actress and to sort of create a context around this personality that was a bit incoherent sonically. So I ended up in some ”Dawson’s Creek” type stuff, and that didn’t work, and then record deal number two just died on September 11^th 2001.

Me: Yeah, that was definitely a tough time to be a pop act. Since then, however, you’ve still certainly still been doing music. What have you kept yourself busy with in the years after?

Melissa: Well, my failed attempt to become a rock star kind of phased into a fairly thriving career in the jingle industry, just endorsing some major products like Gillette, McDonald’s and Chevy-whatever was tossed my way, and I was pretty good at that, so it worked well.

Me: What’s the recording process like?

Melissa: It’s absurd, and ridiculous, and fun, because there are no great overarching consequences. So coming from where all this importance is put on your career as an artist, it just didn’t matter when you’re endorsing products-it’s more fun and light.

Me: All right, and moving on to the actual song, “Dance, Dance, Dance”. First of all, how did you find out you we’re going to get to do it?

Melissa: My jingle agent-she sent me the work. I get my three or four things a year, my work from her, which is pretty scarce in today’s turbulent economy, so I take it when I can get it, I hop to it, and that’s what it was.

Me: What are some of your favorite parts of it?

Melissa: I think it’s the part where I go “Dance, Dance, Dance! I wanna dance forever!”

Me: Any particular reason, or was it just fun?

Melissa: Well, it’s to the point, you know? “I wanna dance forever”? You kinda can’t beat it as a sentiment.

Me: You definitely had a good time there, glad to hear that. What else do you work on in your spare time when you’re not busy doing jingle work?

Melissa: Well at this point I’m pretty much an “old hag” who’s given up on all her ambitions, so I’m content to sit with a cup of tea and make small, impactful decorative changes to my apartment. In terms of music I still have this sort of finger-picking guitar stuff that I do and I have no idea what I’m gonna do with it, but it is a hobby-quite a hobby-I like it. I’m also investing a bit in gold-I think the sector is due for a comeback. The gold miners have been hit really hard, but I expect to see a recovery in the not-to-distant future.

Me: All right, thank you very much Melissa. We certainly look forward to hearing you again either on Pokémon or in your other work.

Melissa: Thank you.

Me: This has been Steven Reich from the PokéPress/PIRN studios in Madison, Wisconsin, on the phone with Melissa Lefton, the performer of “Dance, Dance, Dance”, the ending song from the Meloetta short.