Luigi Awareness Society News

Luigi in Super Mario 64.

2004-05-11T21:47:45Z

[May 11, 2004]

For real this time.

After years of stupid hoaxes for the N64 game, Luigi finally makes it to the world of Super Mario 64 in the multiplayer Super Mario 64 4x4 for the Nintendo DS. This is just a preview, but the featured characters in the E3 demo were Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, and Wario.

For more information on this game, including screenshots, visit GameSpot here:
http://www.gamespot.com/ds/action/dssupermario4x4/preview_6097088.html

And for more information on the revolutionary Nintendo DS, look here:
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/05/11/news_6097113.html

Give the gift of gaming.

2003-12-05T22:53:10Z

[December 5, 2003]

The creators of the popular video game webcomic Penny Arcade present Child's Play, a toy drive to benefit the Seattle Children’s Hospital this holiday season.

From Gabe on Penny Arcade:

"Here's the deal.

If you are like me, every time you see an article like this one - where the author claims that video games are training our nations youth to kill - you get angry. The media seems intent on perpetuating the myth that gamers are ticking time bombs just waiting to go off. I know for a fact that gamers are good people. I have had the opportunity on multiple occasions to meet hundreds of you at conventions all over the country. We are just regular people who happen to love video games.

With that in mind we have put together a little something we like to call “Child’s Play.” Penny Arcade is working with the Seattle Children’s Hospital and Amazon.com to make this Christmas really special for a lot of very sick kids. With the help of the Children’s Hospital we have created an Amazon Wish List for the kids. It’s full of video games, movies and toys. Some of these kids are in pretty bad shape and just having a Game Boy would really raise their spirits.

Please take some time to browse the Wish List. Maybe all you can afford is a package of batteries or maybe you want to go in with your entire office and get the kids a GameCube. Every single contribution will help out the Children’s Hospital and the 190,000 kids they treat each year.

All the toys and games will be delivered to us and we will in turn deliver them to the Children’s Hospital. As soon as the toys start arriving I’ll set up a web site and post as many pictures as I can. We will be making a trip over to one of the hospitals next week and we’ll bring you back stories from some of the kids along with more pictures.

Penny Arcade has a readership of something like 150,000 gamers across the world. We are arguably the largest community of gamers on the internet. The important word there being community. This isn’t IGN, this isn’t Gamespy, we are not a faceless corporation, you are not just a number tracked by a database and then relayed to hungry advertisers. You guys have proven yourselves to be a powerful force when stirred into action. Here is your opportunity to use that power to do some real good.

Let’s give these kids the Christmas that they deserve and let’s give the news papers a different kind of story to write about gamers.

-Gabe out"

I encourage anyone who has the means to contribute to this or any other charity this holiday season to do so, either online or through local organizations, to benefit those less fortunate. I just thought this was relevant since if you're reading this, you're probably a gamer. And to somehow relate this to Luigi, my donation was a copy of Luigi's Mansion through the Amazon Wish List. :)

Go buy games.

2003-11-17T19:57:23Z

[November 17, 2003]

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and Mario Kart: Double Dash!! come out today in the US.

Mario Party 5 came out about a week ago.

Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 came out about a month ago.

Go, buy games. Enjoy the Luigi goodness. That is all.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!! [wallpaper]

2003-10-07T18:49:20Z

[October 7, 2003]

Check out Luigi (oh, and I guess Mario, too...) on one of these cool wallpapers on Nintendo's prelaunch site for Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. I'm loving the expression on Luigi's face in that pic. :) There's also a wallpaper featuring Waluigi for anyone who might be a fan of Luigi's rival.

http://www.mariokart.com/prelaunch/downloads.html

Review: Super Mario Bros.: King Koopa Katastrophe [Region 1 DVD]

2003-10-01T23:53:25Z

[October 1, 2003]

Okay, so this DVD came out in July, but I figured I'd do a quick review of it, anyway.

For anyone who picked up the Mario's Greatest Movie Moments DVD released some time ago, you probably remember it as being, um, not so great, at least in terms of DVD quality and format. King Koopa Katastrophe isn't that much better, but it's a step in the right direction.

Unlike the first Mario Bros. DVD, which featured episodes from the Super Mario Bros. Super Show (minus the live action segments), the second DVD is based on The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3. The DVD features 6 episodes, each running about 11 minutes.

Gone from the menus is Inspector Gadget (thank god), and they have been replaced with much more appropriate Super Mario Bros. imagery. There are still very few options on this DVD, however. You're given the option of simply playing all of the episodes straight through, beginning with the AoSMB3 theme, or selecting each individual episode. There is no scene selection option, but since the episodes are only about 11 minutes long, while still a little annoying, it's not as bad as it would have been if they were full half-hour cartoons.

Other than that, there is a language setup menu, giving you the option to choose between English and Spanish voices. It's disappointing that there is no option for subtitles like there was on the previous DVD, but the Spanish language option is new to this DVD, and the Spanish voices are well done and very similar to the English voices. Luigi's voice is actually much more pleasant in Spanish, in my opinion.

There is no quiz on this DVD as there was on the last one, however there is one "bonus episode." Those who picked up the last DVD may recall that that DVD contained two episodes of The Legend of Zelda (which was part of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show). This one does not contain any Zelda episodes. Instead, the bonus episode in this case is an episode of another DiC video game adaptation, Sonic Underground, the last of DiC's three Sonic the Hedgehog-based series.

The quality of the episodes on this DVD is not great. Better than VHS, most likely, but like the previous Mario DVD, it seems that the source material itself is not high quality, and it has not been digitally remastered. The Sonic Underground series was made much more recently, and as far as I can tell, the quality there is very good. The Super Mario Bros. 3 episodes, however, were made in the very early 1990s, and are showing their age. Still, it's definitely better quality than any episodes I have taped off of TV, and I would definitely recommend the compilation to any Super Mario Bros. fan.

As for the packaging... The DVD itself is printed in full color including the image that's found on the box. The box art is... well, it's better than the first DVD. There are a couple of typos on the back of the box, but I'll save my nitpicking there. :) The design is decent, maybe a little better than the previous release, but nothing too special.

And the episode list for this DVD:

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3

Reptiles in the Rosegarden
Sneaky, Lying, Cheating Giant Ninja Koopas
The Beauty of Kootie
Toddler Terrors of Time Travel
Reign Storm
Never Koop a Koopa

Sonic Underground

Sonic Tonic

Also of note are the other DVDs released by DiC along side this DVD as part of their "Animation Station" series. In addition to Super Mario Bros.: King Koopa Katastrophe, they've put out The Legend of Zelda: Ganon's Evil Tower, which features three of the episodes that were part of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show and one bonus episode of Sonic Underground, and Sonic Underground: Dr. Robotnik's Revenge, which features three episodes of Sonic Underground and a bonus episode of Super Mario Bros. The Mario Bros. episode featured on this DVD is "Do You Princess Toadstool, Take This Koopa" from the Super Mario Bros. Super Show. Instead of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show opening preceding the cartoon, there is a compilation of the openings from the Super Mario Bros. Super Show, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario World, all put together and without lyrics to the respective themes and titled "Mario All Stars." If I recall correctly, this opening was used after the initial run of these series when any of the three was aired randomly in a cartoon block a number of years ago.

For those of us who grew up with these cartoons, it'll certainly offer some nostalgic fun. For anyone who missed these when they originally aired or is too young to remember them, these episodes are silly and a little corny at times (especially the songs), but in a way that's pretty much true to Mario and company. The shows are full of characters, music, locations, and items taken straight from the games (with the Super Mario Bros. Super Show focusing on Super Mario Bros. 1 and 2, and the latter two series focusing on the games they were named after). Peach is still referred to as "Princess Toadstool" in these shows since her US name was not officially changed to her original Japanese name until Super Mario 64. The Koopa Kids were all renamed for this show for some reason that is still entirely unknown to me.

All three DVDs can currently be found on Amazon.com (and possibly at other select retailers). They are all Region 1. If these DVDs (or any other DVDs containing similar content) were released for any other region, please let me know.

Super Mario Bros.: King Koopa Katastrophe - US$13.49
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000AZT6K/102-5836536-5546563

Game and DVD Releases...

2003-09-21T03:11:58Z

[September 20, 2003]

Upcoming releases featuring Luigi:

10.21 Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (GBA)
11.11 Mario Party 5 (GCN)
11.17 Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (GBA)
11.17 Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (GCN)

(release dates are subject to change)

Recent releases featuring Luigi:

Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (GCN)
Super Mario Bros.: King Koopa Katastrophe (DVD)
Super Mario Bros. The Movie (DVD)