It’s nice to see that video games are being treated with the same respect as ever in the non-gaming press. Why is it that the only time video games see any mention in “mainstream” press (other than the small blurb they receive during E3) is when some nutjob who happened to open a copy of Quake kills someone else over a postage stamp dispute or when some sexually explicit game hits the market? It’s just disappointing, is all. At least we can rest confidently in the assumption that twenty years from now, any article related to video game violence will still mention Doom and Mortal Kombat.

P.S. If you can find a Sands of Time ad which depicts our beloved Prince wielding a gun, or something even vaguely resembling a gun, you deserve some sort of disgustingly awesome prize.

In related news, Nintendo announced the next wave of Famicom Minies (whose US name I still don’t know) to hit US shores a long time ago. These four games (well, three of them, anyway) more so than any other Nintendo product in recent memory, clearly symbolizes Nintendo’s absolute greed as well as its intense hate for its loyal fans. Included in the series are Metroid, Dr. Mario, and the Legend of Zelda: The Adventures of Link. Of course, chances are that most people who would be really interested in these games already own a copy, as all three have already seen release over the course of this generation. The original Metroid was an unlockable in both Metroid Prime and Metroid Zero Mission, the former of which now costs just as much as this GBA rerelease. For the exact same price, you can get not only the original Metroid, but also one of the best games of this generation. Dr. Mario has also seen release as Dr. Wario within Wario Ware, a game which no self-respecting GBA owner should be without, leaving no plausible excuse for anyone to actually purchase this over-priced GBA version. Finally, Legend of Zelda 2 was included on the Zelda Collector’s Edition disk. Honestly, I can see no reason why anyone should shell out the ridiculous asking price for these three games, seeing as how they’re already available as parts of superior, and much more economically friendly, packages.

Castlevania, on the other hand, is a different matter entirely. Though it’s a shame we’re not getting the Famicom Disk version (in which you can save your progress, apparently), and that Nintendo (and Konami?) opted not to release the original NES Castlevania trilogy on a single cartridge, beggars can’t really be choosers. Besides, Castlevania has always been my favoritest of the NES games, even though I’m completely aware of the many better games available for the console.

And where’s our Wrecking Crew, Nintendo? Is it too good for our heathen American fingers?

Also: we’ve lost our Internet connection at Castle Where I Live, so expect this site to be just as inactive as it always is. This update you’re reading now (or not) was typed up at home, printed, and is now being reproduced online thanks to the UC Davis Assistant Football Coachs’ Office’s lovely Internet connection.