Yoshi Controllers

I had no idea what to ramble on about tonight, so I thought I would show you my wife's Yoshi controllers. ^_^

The Yoshi Wii Remote Plus comes with the green protective cover and the green & orange strap in the photo. The back of the controller is coloured Yoshi green, whereas the B button is orange. I think this was released alongside a Princess Peach controller, but the Yoshi one seemed near impossible to find, but luckily Nintendo restocked in time for Christmas. 

This Yoshi Wired Fight Pad from PDP is intended for use with Super Smash Bros, but it can be used as a Classic Controller for Virtual Console games and other compatible software. I was a little skeptical of this controller myself, as the promotional photos didn't make it look like the controller was built to last. First hand though it seems pretty robust, soon we'll put it through its paces with a Super Smash Fest.

Day 50 of 100 Happy Gaming Days: Cuddly Toys

We're fifty days into our 100 Happy Gaming Days Challenge, so let's celebrate hitting the halfway mark with some gaming cuddly toys! \ (^ o ^) /

Day 38 of 100 Happy Gaming Days: Super Mario Sunshine

Summer is in full swing and I'm suffering from violent hayfever, so let's celebrate my having a pollen and mucus filled head by looking at an essential summertime game; Super Mario Sunshine.

Super Mario Sunshine has divided fans and critics in terms of its gameplay and design, but particularly on the FLUDD system that Mario carries on his back. Mario uses this to clean up graffiti, defeat enemies and navigate his way around puzzles and obstacles. Admittedly controlling Mario with the FLUDD can be frustrating at times however, I still consider Super Mario Sunshine to be the last great Mario game to ever be released.

Every Mario game that's followed Super Mario Sunshine has been easier and easier, with Nintendo practically holding your hand every step of the way, which is shame as I miss the challenge a new Mario game usually provides. The Super Mario Galaxy series may have been well developed, but I felt the experience was dull as I didn't need to go to much effort to complete the game. Large open worlds in Mario games have also been replaced with smaller bite-sized levels which lack the sense of exploration and self discovery offered by Super Mario Sunshine (and even Super Mario 64). 

The object of the game is to find out who's framing Mario for vandalising an island resort and to retrieve 120 Shine Sprites (the island's power source), with alternate endings depending on whether you find them all or not. Super Mario Sunshine had huge tropical themed worlds to explore, from coastal towns and industrial districts to fun fairs and volcanoes, and the graphical quality was absolutely stunning. Yoshi even made an appearance with a new ability; allowing him to vanquish enemies by spraying them with fruit juice.   

I've only completed Super Mario Sunshine the once but I didn't collect all 120 Shine Sprites.  I did set myself the challenge of finding the remaining Sprites, but unfortunately my memory card crashed and wiped my save file...it's going to be a long summer.

Super Mario Sunshine was on my Top Ten Games I Still Have to Finish, click the link to see the rest of list.

Day Three: Super Mario Bros Wii K'nex Figures

I think these figures are fantastic. They ooze quality and I'm looking forward to collecting all 9 in the set. I currently have the Blue Yoshi the Yellow Toad, I'm hoping to pick up Fire Mario next!