Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: Retro
Someone beat the Super Mario Bros. “Any Percentage” speedrun record by a single frame
In April, “Darbian” lowered the World Record “Any Percentage” speedrun for Super Mario Bros. to just four minutes and 57.26 seconds. In the aftermath of his achievement, he retired from speedrunning, saying, “I have reached my potential in this category.”
But some records were made to be broken… and even the slimmest of margins can mean the difference between Silver and Gold.
On Thursday, “Kosmic” set an unbelievable new “Any Percentage” record for Super Mario Bros. of four minutes and 57.244 seconds. The minuscule difference between the two runs, just 0.016 seconds, is actually equivalent to a single frame of animation in the game. So how did he do it? “Kosmic” has a pretty extensive FAQ up on YouTube, and a desire to get his World Record down to four minutes and 56 seconds.
If you’re interested in watching him try, you can follow his Twitch Channel to see all his attempts.
UPDATE (10/4/16): Believe it or not, but Kosmic has already set a new Super Mario Bros. “Any Percentage” record. He posted to Twitter that his new best time is 4:57.194, an improvement of 0.05 seconds (or three frames) over his previous record-setting attempt.
Posted in News, Retro
Tagged Super Mario Bros.
It’s In Your Blood: A History of Horror Games (Part Four)
We’ve all been scared at one time or another. While “normal” people may try to avoid it at all costs, the rest of us actively seek out that primitive, guttural thrill. Horror movies do this well enough, but why bother watching when you can participate? There’s nothing like a good survival horror game, from Dead Space to Alien: isolation — but diehard fear junkies know the genre began much earlier. If that’s news to you, it’s okay! Just sit down and quiet yourselves, boys and girls, because class is in session.
After looking back at the birth of survival horror, the rise in popularity, and a huge wave of sequels, today, we’ll cover the next chapter in the genre’s evolution — one some would even describe as the death of true survival horror video games. (more…)
Posted in Features, PC, PS2, Retro, Top Story
Tagged Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Code Veronica
Nearly complete game list for the Retro-Bit Generations microconsole announced
The Retro-Bit Generations microconsole was originally announced last month, and at the time, the HDMI-compatible device was expected to include more than 100 built-in games. Earlier this week, Innex Inc updated the microconsole’s official website and confirmed 97 of those titles with “more to be announced.”
With support from Capcom, Data East, Jaleco, and Irem, the list below includes a lot of 8-bit and 16-bit classics that were previously available on the NES, Super NEs, and Genesis. But there’s also more than a few titles that’ll surely leave you shaking your head.
The Retro-Bit Generations will launch sometime this Fall, and be available for a suggested retail price of $59.99:
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Dark Horse to publish Hyrule Historia sequel Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts in February 2017
After the massive success of The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia (including a series timeline that fans are still talking about), Dark Horse and Nintendo are teaming up again to publish The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts in Early 2017. Art & Artifacts will be packed with promotional artwork and interviews with the design team, along with exclusive artwork from the next game in the series, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild:
Fans of The Legend of Zelda are in for a treat with The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts. Readers can peruse over four hundred pages of fully realized artistic masterpieces, exclusive interviews with the design team behind the beloved video game franchise, the official pixel art of the early series, and rare promotional art never before published in this format. The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts offers fans a sneak peek at art from the newest game in the series, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, prior to its official release. This breathtaking volume is essential for any true Zelda fan!
The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts will be available in stores on February 21, 2017. And let’s hope that release date means we’ll get Breath of the Wild on the Wii U and NX sooner rather than later.
Posted in 3DS, DS, Etcetera, News, Retro, Switch, Wii, Wii U
Tagged The Legend of Zelda, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Mario helped Japanese PM Shinzo Abe make it to the Olympics Closing Ceremony on time
The 2016 Summer Olympics came to an end last night with the Closing Ceremonies. Team USA won 121 total medals, including six more for Michael Phelps, one for “mugging victim” Ryan Lochte, and Gold for both the Men’s and Women’s basketball teams. But now the eyes of the world turn to Tokyo as they prepare for the 2020 Games, and naturally, Mario was on hand to help them out.
In a great little video to symbolize the Olympic handover, Japanese athletes perform alongside the country’s greatest cultural exports… Hello Kitty, Pac-Man, and Mario. Mario even lent a warp pipe and his signature hat hat to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe so he could make it to the Closing Ceremony on time. Cutting to live events in the stadium, Abe even emerged from a massive green wipe wearing Mario’s coveralls.
You can watch the full video at NBCOlympics.com and I’m sure Nintendo and Sega are already thinking about the Nintendo NX launch of Mario & Sonic at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in four years.
Posted in Etcetera, News, Retro
Tagged Super Mario Bros.
Watch a hamster run through Level 1-1 from Super Mario Bros.
ハムケツ動画のノーカット版(35秒)に、BGMをつけてみました=^･ω･^= pic.twitter.com/ocyqGUTVxg
— ゆたこ (@yutako55) August 19, 2016
Prepare yourself… Here’s a video of a hamster running through Level 1-1 from Super Mario Bros. Created by Twitter user Yutako55, the video even includes the appropriate music and sound effects. Though be sure to turn your speakers up really loud so you can hear them over your squeals of delight.
Happy Sunday!
Posted in Etcetera, News, Retro
Tagged Super Mario Bros.
NES Classic Edition will include multiple display modes
Nostalgic Nintendo fans are hyped for the NES Classic Edition, and a strong response to the microconsole’s announcement has encouraged competitors and caused fans to wonder, “When is the Super NES Classic Edition coming?” But little did we know, Nintendo of Canada’s Communications Manger revealed a bit about the NES Classic Edition during a French Canadian radio program, La Terrasse Energie, shortly after its announcement last month.
Helpfully translated by Nintendo Everything, Communications Manger Julie Gagnon confirmed the NES Classic Edition will include multiple display options. The microsoconsole will include a 4:3 Mode to recreate the NES’s original aspect ratio, as well as a CRT Mode that simulates the look of a classic tube TV. A Pixel Perfect Mode will also be available, which will “display each pixel as a square.”
The NES Classic Edition will be available in stores on November 11.
Almost every issue of Nintendo Power is now available as a free download at Internet Archive
UPDATE: All issues of Nintendo Power have been removed from the Internet Archive.
Do you consider yourself something of an amateur video game historian? Then good news… nearly every issue of Nintendo Power is now available to download (for free) through the Internet Archive. As of today, the site has digitized more than 100 issues of Nintendo Power, which covers more than half of the magazine’s complete 24-year run. So that means there’s still a few holes, but every issue from Nintendo’s NES-Super NES-Nintendo 64 heyday is just a click away.
This isn’t the first time that the Internet Archive has come to the aid of retro-minded gamers. The site also serves as a repository for playable versions of classic Atari 2600, MS-DOS, and Windows 3.1 games.
So what are you waiting for? Head over to the Internet Archive and get reading. Me, I’m going to catch up on old Howard & Nester strips.