The FNG-Spot: Nintendo

Wii Power Save - Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 18:04:19 GMT

For anyone who's into Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and the Wii Power Saves, you'll be happy to know I just released the 1st power save for it... don't worry, I'll be releasing more for M.P.3 soon; I need to finish Tiger Woods '08 first.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Power Save in Action)

480i vs 480p.. Are Wii component cables worth it?

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 21:20:54 GMT

I know GameSpot did this a while back, but I really needed to see the difference first hand.

As everyone knows, Wii titles aren't exactly the most visually stunning games on the planet; they're simply a blast to play. Many Wii owners with HDTV's, like me, have been scrambling to find a set of component cables with the hopes of a cleaner picture. Any Xbox 360 / PlayStation 3 owner with an HDTV will immediately find themselves saying "Ewww.. WTF?!!" the first time they witness the blurry / over-saturated colors in Zelda: Twilight Princess.... Of course, after a few minutes of playing the Wii it's easy to overlook the "not-so-next-gen" graphics.

Yesterday I was lucky enough to find a set of component cables for my Wii & I decided to see if they were worth the wait. After seeing the results first hand, I thought I'd grab my digital camera and share the results with you all. (It's extremely difficult to see just how different Zelda: Twilight Princess looked after connecting the component cables with still photos, so I decided to make a video. Even the video didn't seem to do justice to the graphical improvements the new cables & 480p mode made, but I'll get to that a bit later.!)

The thing I noticed most when I first started Zelda: Twilight Princess using the component cables, Red/Blue/Green, was the vast reduction in color intensity & blur. With the standard composite video cables, Yellow/White/Red, there seemed to be an over exaggeration of reds & overall picture brightness. It was also difficult to tell if the blur effects were intentional, or if it was merely a poor quality video signal causing it.

(The mountains in the intro scene are the best example of how overly red the colors really were.)

Another wonderul improvemnt was the aspect ratio. I had never noticed it before, but when running Zelda TP in 480i / widescreen mode, everything looks a bit 'squished' and 'cartoony'. (If that's a real word.) I know it sounds odd, but it looked as if Link were more adult looking, and Epona was more horse-like after connecting the component cables and switching to 480p. Seriously; the aspect ratio and color correction made the entire game look a little more 'adult'. Personally, I'm extremely happy with the improvements I've see by switching to component cables & 480p mode! (I really don't like sub-par video running on my TV. 60 inches can make a bad signal look HORRIBLE!)

If you'd like to watch the video comparison, feel free to check out the YouTube video below or the larger version on Google Video.

If you're in the market for some component cables, your best bet for finding a pair is by shopping online. Here are a few links that you may find useful in hunting down a pair...

OFFICIAL Component Cable from Nintendo's online store. ($29.95 US)
InTec "Premium" Component Cable from Amazon.com. ($99.99 US!!!!!)
GameStop "Premium" component Cable from EBGames.com. ($49.99 US)
MadCatz Component Cable from Amazon.com. ($19.99 US)
Penguin United Component Cable from Penguin United. ($14.99 US)

[UPDATE]
I purchased a pair of the 'no frills' component cables for $14.99 from Penguin United recently... I wanted to see if there was a noticible difference between the $99.99 cables I have, and the $14.99 cables from Penguin United... the answer is no. I saw NO difference between the cables when running my Wii in 480p on my 60" SONY KDRSXBR2. I'd also like to pass along that the Penguin United cables are nearly identical to the 1st party Nintendo component cables, my online transaction went smoothly, shipment was prompt, and it took almost no time for the cables to arrive.

- Jay

Addictions & Work...

Fri, 18 Aug 2006 04:48:26 GMT

I noticed that ICandee mentioned my space in her latest blog entry, ICandee's Top 5 Blogs, so I felt compelled to update.
(Thanks ICandee; I'm flattered!)

To anyone who has been wondering where I've been, I'm sorry.. It's all the Xbox 360's fault!!! I'm currently addicted to Dead Rising & when I'm not at work, or spending time with the family, I'm glued to my TV blowing the heads off of the undead!

I knew I'd enjoy Dead Rising, but I didn't think I'd become so addicted to it.... I'm not quite sure what makes this game so 'special'; It's kind of like Resident Evil meets Grand Theft Auto... in a mall. I've gone through all of the case files, saving a few people here and there, but I haven't touched infinity mode, take out all of the psychopaths, save everyone, or find all of the items in each of the stores. (I've played for hours, but I feel like I've only scratched the surface of what I could do in this game.)

Another addiction I have is work. I'm addicted to making Action Replay DS codes; more specifically, codes for Animal Crossing: Wild World. I loved the Animal Crossing game for GameCube, and this one is even better. Sure, there's no island to visit, no signs to post, and a few other tidbits have changed, but you can visit other towns via online WiFi connection!! (I also love the ability to save at any time.)

So, what does one thing have to do with the other? Plenty. If you take my addiction with Dead Rising, and the Xbox 360 in general, and you combine it with Action Replay DS codes for Animal Crossing Wild World you come up with a little something like this.....

(Watch the video here. )

These are what the original icons looked like
before I turned them into "Patterns" for
Animal Crossing: Wild World

Here's how I look at it... There have GOT to be more Xbox 360 fans that also own a Nintendo DS than me! Heck, I hear Major Nelson talk about how much enjoys playing the Nintendo DS in his weekly podcast... so I decided to pay homage to him and the Xbox 360 by placing various pictures into Animal Crossing: Wild World with ActionReplay DS codes.

I know this sounds odd, so allow me to explain...

I took some pics, like the ones to the left, and put them into an icon editor and split them into squares. On the Nintendo DS, each square of color in a pattern is a different address in memory. Each color in the "pattern" is a different value, and there are 16 different color palettes... I then figured out the memory locations of each square in the "Pattern" being designed at the Able Sisters shop (I used a Hex editor to help me figure out where I should put all of the colors.)... To make a long story short, I just made a LOOOONG code that would color every square for you when you press L+R+Down.

If the code is active, and you press these buttons while you're desiging a pattern at the shop, the code will save the the desired picture for you when you choose accept.... I know it sounds lame, but making one of these patterns by hand is a pain the butt, and can be quite time consuming. It's cheating, yes, but it's fun to have custom patterns to post around your town, put up as your town flag, or wear on your clothes when someone comes to visit your town.

The only drawbacks to these codes currently is fact that you can't have more than one active at a time. The code is so long that it takes up too much of the DS's memory, so you have to use the code, design the pattern, name the pattern, then save.... turn the DS off, turn on a code for another pattern, load the game, visit the Able Sisters, create the pattern, name the pattern, save the game, then repeat if desired. (If you tried to use this code with other codes the game would either lock up, or slow down to the point where it's no longer playable.)

To be honest, it's not really a big deal... it's not like you're going to want all of the patterns anyway; besides, you can only save 8 patterns at a time.

Here are the patterns I've created so far... not all are featured in the video I posted on YouTube.

ActionReplay Logo

Amped 3: Logo

Amped 3: Bunny Outfit

Amped 3: Indie Built Logo

Amped 3: Sebastian

Call of Duty 2: Star

Call of Duty 2: Soldier 1

Call of Duty 2: Soldier 2

Call of Duty 2: Soldier Face

Cloning Clyde

Cloning Clyde: Explosive Barrel

Cloning Clyde: Chicken

Cloning Clyde: Frog

Dead Rising: Logo

Dead Rising: Psycho Clown (Adam)

Dead Rising: Jessie

Dead Rising: Jo Slade

G.R.A.W. Icon

Halo 2: Grunt

Halo 2: Red Spartan

Jay "FNG" (My cartoon face)

Joust Icon

Link (from a Link to the Past)

Mega Man

Oblivion: Logo

Pac-Man

Raccoon Mario (from Super Mario 3)

Street Fighter II: Blanka

Street Fighter II: Chun-Li

Street Fighter II: Guile

Street Fighter II: Ken

Street Fighter II: Ryu

Street Fighter II: Ryu (2)

Street Fighter II: Zangief

Transformers: Autobot Symbol

Transformers: Decepticon Symbol

Wik: Fable of Lost Souls

Xbox 1 Logo

Xbox 360 Logo

Xbox.com: Major Nelson

Xbox.com: Trixie

Well, it's getting late... I need to get some 'shut eye'.. I'll try and post a few more pics tomorrow. (hopefully I'll post the codes too, but I have to ask my boss 1st; I don't want to infringe on any copyrights!)

- Jay

Wii Rumors

Wed, 14 Jun 2006 14:02:30 GMT

GoNintendo.com has a great little blurb on their site about Nintendo Wii rumors that amused me greatly.....

"The latest issue of EGM contains a couple very juicy rumors in their rumor section. Take these with a smaller grain of salt then usual…EGM does have an ear very close to the ground.

The biggest rumor from EGM’s rumor section is that many third party developers are ditching their PS3 projects in favor of the Wii. This change can most likely be attributed to a combination of a strong Wii showing at E3, and the high pricepoint of the PS3.

LucasArts is hearing the cries of Wii fans everywhere. A rumored Star Wars game is coming to the Wii (exclusive), and lightsaber battles will be the main focus of the title.

Once again, these are just rumors for now…but two rumors that I would love to come true."

It looks like Sony's rubbing a lot of people the wrong way with their PS3 / Blu-Ray price points, delays, licensing fees etc. Personally, I enjoy just sitting back and watching the entire console war unfold.