"Under the Southern Cross, Anything is Possible!" | Mike Jones Support Thread

[PigmaskColonel]

That's the equivalent of saying Mega Man isn't retro because he's been in games since the NES era. Simon -- much like Mega Man, mind you -- is intentionally modeled after his appearances in the original Castlevania titles. He's practically a love letter to Castlevania 1-III. How ISN'T he a retro rep?

Also I feel this thread needs to be open for a takeover. Nobody is taking care of the OP or the supporters list.

I've been meaning to bring this up! If nobody else is interested, I'd be happy to take over and give the OP a new coat of paint.

 

[smash puffle]

I think you can request that in this thread:
https://smashboards.com/threads/new...irectory-check-here-before-making-one.446333/

 

[Putuk]

Recently beat Startropics and quite liked it.
Mike would be such a fantastic character for Smash, but I could never see Nintendo doing anything with Startropics again. It didn't even get as much as a spirit in Ultimate.
I think it's because it's a franchise that never reached Japan. I wonder if people in Japan even know of it. Is there some people over there that are into some weird, never-localized game made for the west?

 

[3DSNinja]

That's the equivalent of saying Mega Man isn't retro because he's been in games since the NES era. Simon -- much like Mega Man, mind you -- is intentionally modeled after his appearances in the original Castlevania titles. He's practically a love letter to Castlevania 1-III. How ISN'T he a retro rep?


I've been meaning to bring this up! If nobody else is interested, I'd be happy to take over and give the OP a new coat of paint.

That's like saying Mario is a retro rep because he was on the NES. By that definition every character that was on an 8-bit console is retro.

 

[PigmaskColonel]

You're twisting my words. I used Mega Man as an example because he, along with Simon, is probably the most retro-styled character in the game. Both characters are extremely faithful recreations of their original NES appearances that were intended to represent those games first and foremost. In that sense, I think most will agree that both are distinctly retro characters as they are portrayed in Smash.

Recently beat Startropics and quite liked it.
Mike would be such a fantastic character for Smash, but I could never see Nintendo doing anything with Startropics again. It didn't even get as much as a spirit in Ultimate.
I think it's because it's a franchise that never reached Japan. I wonder if people in Japan even know of it. Is there some people over there that are into some weird, never-localized game made for the west?

Let me tell you a little anecdote.

I once knew an NES & Famicom collector who frequently made trips overseas. He had a number of Japanese connections, most of whom were extremely knowledgable on Nintendo. These were Famicom gurus of the highest degree.
At some point, I brought up StarTropics to him and we got into a discussion about R&D3, Genyo Takeda, the works. I asked him how many of his Japanese friends had played the games. He said it'd never come up in conversation, but that he'd try asking about it sometime.
A few months afterward in a long-distance email, I mentioned it and asked what their reaction was. Solemnly, he said of the FOUR that he'd inquired with, none of them knew what he was talking about or that R&D3 even made an adventure game for the NES.

I think that tells you all you need to know about the state of StarTropics in Japan.

For the record, he actually claimed he would take his copy of the game next trip just to show off to all those Famicom elitists. We lost contact soon after however, so who knows if he actually kept to his word.

 

[smash puffle]

If asking on the thread directory doesn't work, then maybe you can ask in Legendary Spirit Tamer's profile to ask for it.

EDIT: Actually I saw this interesting point in the Crash thread, which originally came from the Isaac thread:

A thought on 12 million copies of Smash Ultimate sold in less than a month... that's good for ongoing DLC. Splatoon/Splatoon 2 did not those numbers and got extended support. The new president said they were about DLC. It'd be madness not to expect a second season of DLC characters.

Rumors are most of the 1st run DLC being third parties and I am nonplussed in the American definition. But those decisions have already been made.

If we are to influence the wave 2 or future DLC prospects, possibly for representation of unrepresented or underserved Nintendo franchises, this time period is the exact period where it would hit the heaviest and matter the most. Don't express your desire a year from now when they announce those characters have already been picked. They'd make those decisions this year.

If this could also apply for StarTropics, then I really think we as a community, regardless if it is small, should do something about the lack of ST representation, specially this time where wave 1 is still an unknown in many areas. If we don't act quick enough, then this may really be the end of our hopes for the future.

 

[PigmaskColonel]

Well, regardless of whether a wave 2 is coming or not, it's as good a time as ever to get support for Mike & StarTropics representation rolling! I think campaigning on Twitter and calling everyone from the C-Island Forum community would be the first step. Getting StarTropics fans with a voice like Nitro Rad, Shesez, or Antdude involved would help the cause significantly.
I'm not so sure that I'd have the time to put this together myself, let alone maintain it, but perhaps we can get a small team together to manage things. If it helps, I run a small Discord server dedicated to StarTropics -- feel free to deliberate there.

 

[smash puffle]

I don't think I'm qualified for the job at all, but I might give some ideas.
If we can at least get a single spirit, then maybe we can call the campaign #MikeInSpirit or something like that.
If we could get a Mike Mii costume then that would be neat as well.

Hooray on the 10k views, by the way!

 

[PigmaskColonel]

Good news: the OP has been updated, and ownership's been officially taken! The support list includes every self-proclaimed supporter up to this point -- if your username is missing, just let me know. A big thanks to moderator and fellow Mike supporter NonSpecificGuy for his patience during the longer-than-expected OP revision "process".

As an extra, I had planned to include a copy the old OP out of respect for the original owner, but I unfortunately forgot to back up their post before it was nuked in the moving process. If you're reading this now, o' "Deleted Member", my apologies.

Anyhow, I'll continue making additions to the OP here and there as time goes on. Keep an eye out for updates.

 

[smash puffle]

Congratulations!
Now it's time to really think how are we going to push the support for Mike moving forward.

 

[smashkirby]

Good news: the OP has been updated, and ownership's been officially taken! The support list includes every self-proclaimed supporter up to this point -- if your username is missing, just let me know. A big thanks to moderator and fellow Mike supporter NonSpecificGuy for his patience during the longer-than-expected OP revision "process".

As an extra, I had planned to include a copy the old OP out of respect for the original owner, but I unfortunately forgot to back up their post before it was nuked in the moving process. If you're reading this now, o' "Deleted Member", my apologies.

Anyhow, I'll continue making additions to the OP here and there as time goes on. Keep an eye out for updates.

Dude, that OP is godly. Seriously, I WISH I could be this detailed for my support threads (especially for my Pilotwings support thread, as I support a character from that series the most out of all my other threads.

 

[ChronoBound]

Good news: the OP has been updated, and ownership's been officially taken! The support list includes every self-proclaimed supporter up to this point -- if your username is missing, just let me know. A big thanks to moderator and fellow Mike supporter NonSpecificGuy for his patience during the longer-than-expected OP revision "process".

As an extra, I had planned to include a copy the old OP out of respect for the original owner, but I unfortunately forgot to back up their post before it was nuked in the moving process. If you're reading this now, o' "Deleted Member", my apologies.

Anyhow, I'll continue making additions to the OP here and there as time goes on. Keep an eye out for updates.

Congrats on doing this. I would like to be put down as a supporter. I do not think Mike Jones will ever be a part of the roster to Smash Bros., but I certainly think he (and StarTropics in general) should have some sort of reference in Ultimate and Smash Bros. in general. StarTropics and its sequel are classics that deserve to be part of the biggest celebration of Nintendo (and gaming yet). You did a really good job of explaining StarTropics's backstory, its appeal, a Mike Jones moveset, as well as ideas for possible spirits. I would be very happy if we got a spirit of Mike Jones and possibly other StarTropics stuff, and StarTropics fans should consider that a massive victory. It is a shame that Sakurai and his team likely are unaware of the existence of those two titles.

One thing I think that might be interesting to post would be a transcript or image of that review/wind-back that Nintendo Power wrote about Zoda's Revenge in the late 2000's.

 

[smash puffle]

You guys know what else we should push? A rerelease of the game on the Nintendo Switch Online app. CAN YOU IMAGINE the amount of people that could be playing the game for the first time, for FREE without having to buy any discontinued products? That would be a big deal if it happens.

EDIT: WOA TIME SURE FLIES DOESNT IT GUYS

 

[GoodGrief741]

It’s truly a shame that some classics have it harder than others. Takamaru and Mike probably would have gotten in already had their games originally released on both sides of the globe.

Well, then again, Balloon Fight and Mach Rider don’t have fighters yet, so who knows?

 

[PigmaskColonel]

Congrats on doing this. I would like to be put down as a supporter. I do not think Mike Jones will ever be a part of the roster to Smash Bros., but I certainly think he (and StarTropics in general) should have some sort of reference in Ultimate and Smash Bros. in general. StarTropics and its sequel are classics that deserve to be part of the biggest celebration of Nintendo (and gaming yet). You did a really good job of explaining StarTropics's backstory, its appeal, a Mike Jones moveset, as well as ideas for possible spirits. I would be very happy if we got a spirit of Mike Jones and possibly other StarTropics stuff, and StarTropics fans should consider that a massive victory. It is a shame that Sakurai and his team likely are unaware of the existence of those two titles.

One thing I think that might be interesting to post would be a transcript or image of that review/wind-back that Nintendo Power wrote about Zoda's Revenge in the late 2000's.

Thanks! I added you to the list.

By the by, do you have any more info on that Nintendo Power article? I wasn't aware that anything like that existed, but I'll see if I can't dig it up some time.

 

[smash puffle]

Ok, so we gotta think how we're gonna make this big push for Mike... um... any ideas?

 

[fleshdude.gov]

https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1103097867810541568

Excellent news guys! Startropics is coming to Nintendo Online!

 

[smash puffle]

https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1103097867810541568

Excellent news guys! Startropics is coming to Nintendo Online!

Ok, now this is starting to get interesting...

 

[shinhed-echi]

https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1103097867810541568

Excellent news guys! Startropics is coming to Nintendo Online!

You’re kidding!!! It’s coming already!? OMG!!!

 

[Megadoomer]

https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1103097867810541568

Excellent news guys! Startropics is coming to Nintendo Online!

I wonder if Japan is going to get two games this month as well; previously, the only times when we've gotten two games a month (at least as far as I know) is when one of the three was Japan exclusive, and Star Tropics never got a release in Japan. (even through the Virtual Console or NES Classic)

 

[Guynamednelson]

I wonder if Japan is going to get two games this month as well; previously, the only times when we've gotten two games a month (at least as far as I know) is when one of the three was Japan exclusive, and Star Tropics never got a release in Japan. (even through the Virtual Console or NES Classic)

They got three once again. NoA needed to give us StarTropics so we wouldn't have just one.

 

[smash puffle]

Here's a Mike Jones Mii I made to celebrate:

 

[shinhed-echi]

I wonder if Japan is going to get two games this month as well; previously, the only times when we've gotten two games a month (at least as far as I know) is when one of the three was Japan exclusive, and Star Tropics never got a release in Japan. (even through the Virtual Console or NES Classic)

They got Kid Icarus , Kung Fu, and Fire Emblem.

(They could have given us Zoda’s Revenge as well, to match 3). :3

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

They got Kid Icarus , Kung Fu, and Fire Emblem.

(They could have given us Zoda’s Revenge as well, to match 3). :3

Yie-Ar Kung Fu from Konami, to be more specific. Gotta avoid confusion with the Nintendo/Irem one.

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/20...join_the_switch_online_nes_library_this_month

That being said, this is certainly an unexpected turn of events, though not unwelcome.

 

[NonSpecificGuy]

Hey, Startropics is coming to Switch Online this month! That's ****ing amazing. Can't wait to finally play that game on the go.

 

[PigmaskColonel]

https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1103097867810541568

Excellent news guys! Startropics is coming to Nintendo Online!

And just like that, the OP is already out of date... Ha. I'll try and work this news in there, though, since it's certainly a noteworthy display of how much NOA seems to appreciate the game.
I hope dearly that this at least introduces some of Nintendo's Japanese audience to the series, since it's so accessible despite that hokey region locking. The thought of potentially thousands of Japanese players experiencing the game is bonkers.

 

[Organization XIII]

Super awesome they are adding StarTropics. Nintendo Online still isn't something I'm going to get but awesome none the less.

 

[GoodGrief741]

https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1103097867810541568

Excellent news guys! Startropics is coming to Nintendo Online!

YES

Please tell me Japan is also getting it

 

[3DSNinja]

Nope, sadly they are getting FE 1 instead.

 

[shinhed-echi]

Yeah, sadly they don’t have too many incentives to play games from across the ocean. I think then only games that they never got to play see ST 1 and 2. In contrast we have so many that we didn’t get to play, that we have to resort to making a Japanese account to play them (but hey, at least we can).

But there may be some retro aficionados over there that will want to play ST and finally can for the first time, without resorting to illegal means. The game is still easy to navigate through since you don’t really have to understand much to proceed. Events are triggered either way.

Wonder how they’ll handle the letter moment, though.

 

[pupNapoleon]

I cannot wait to finally play StarTropics! I didnt see too much reason as to why it is a favorite to some, the play looked mostly like other games of the era-- but that 'Pause' feature to freeze the boss(?) made me warm up to unique ideas possible.

It’s truly a shame that some classics have it harder than others. Takamaru and Mike probably would have gotten in already had their games originally released on both sides of the globe.

Well, then again, Balloon Fight and Mach Rider don’t have fighters yet, so who knows?

Yeah... Balloon Fighter is the real shock to me, given what Iwata, the creator of that game, means to Sakurai and Smash Bros as a whole.

 

[smash puffle]

Wonder how they’ll handle the letter moment, though.

That's actually a good question. How did they handled it on the Wii U VC? I know how the Wii rerelease handled it, but I'm not sure about the Wii U rerelease.

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

I cannot wait to finally play StarTropics! I didnt see too much reason as to why it is a favorite to some, the play looked mostly like other games of the era-- but that 'Pause' feature to freeze the boss(?) made me warm up to unique ideas possible.


Yeah... Balloon Fighter is the real shock to me, given what Iwata, the creator of that game, means to Sakurai and Smash Bros as a whole.

To be fair with BF, Sakurai had thought what any regular fan would: how would he do anything after his balloons got popped?

In the meantime, at least some of his concept has been incorporated in a way.

It’s truly a shame that some classics have it harder than others. Takamaru and Mike probably would have gotten in already had their games originally released on both sides of the globe.

Well, then again, Balloon Fight and Mach Rider don’t have fighters yet, so who knows?

At least Takamaru's game is on the NA 3DS VC, poor Mike still has his limited to NA, but the lack of region lock makes things more manageable.

 

[GoodGrief741]

That's actually a good question. How did they handled it on the Wii U VC? I know how the Wii rerelease handled it, but I'm not sure about the Wii U rerelease.

Didn't the Wii U also have the manual digitized?

 

[Rubberfrog]

Exciting news to hear that Startropics is coming to the NES Library! Hopefully, with time, they'll add the sequel too.

If they were to fully remake the series, what kind of gameplay would you want to see? Something reminiscent of the original gameplay, but with updated graphics and features? An open-world collection of islands and caves to explore?

I think it would be cool to see a 3D metroidvania of several different caves and islands. What do you guys think?

Also, I'd like to be added as a supporter.

 

[shinhed-echi]

The only way I see Nintendo making a new StarTropics game would be by remaking it. Some of the issues that would push for this decision are:

- Japan doesn’t know this game series. They have to be properly introduced to it.
- A lot of general people, including new players and people who aren’t that into gaming don’t know the series.
- Jumping directly into a StarTropics 3 would raise a lot of eyebrows except from us fans.

As for what I’d like to see in a new game. Well... I wanted ST to take 2D zelda’s place, but then Link’s Awakening happened so...

I still want it top-down but 3D.
I want the yo-yo to be the mainstream weapon Of the series. How it’s upgraded, should change between games.

Chapter focus is cool as a guideline that hints at where you should be continuing your main quest, but freedom is almost mandatory for a game like this today.
Or at least make each chapter a point of no return until the final chapter where you gain access to the whole map and are allowed to explore beyond what you had already played.

A feature that allows you to store dungeon items in Sub-C so that if for example, I need some leftover torches from chapter 1, I can assign them to one of the 3 slots from the submenu by withdrawing them from Sub-c before I enter a new dungeon.

I think Zoda’s revenge almost nailed it as how Mike should move around. So having that as a point of reference would be good. Although I wouldn’t mind if we go back to grid-style 4d movement.

Bosses should be 50/50 puzzle based and skill based.

Some new type of clever 4th wall breaking similar to the letter would be amazing. But nothing that would affect people who bought the digital version.

More movement inducing power ups such as the power anklet.
Maybe we could have
- An anklet that allows you to deal double damage (red shirt)
- An anklet that allows you to run faster (green shirt).

An anklet which give all 3 effects but drains your life (purple shirt) until you leave the room.

 

[smash puffle]

A remake is a must for me. The controls haven't really aged well, I think.

 

[amazonevan19]

Just started playing StarTropics on the NSO and I have to say I really enjoy this game! I heard a couple people say how good it was but I usually don't buy into online hype that much. But I tried it and well, color me impressed!

Any form of StarTropics representation would be dope in Smash. I wanted to learn more about this game's history and so props to the OP's extensive explanation.

 

[PigmaskColonel]

Great to hear Nintendo Switch Online is already bringing in new fans! I reckon you'll enjoy the game. Don't be afraid to use save states, though -- it can be a grueling challenge for first-timers.

I finished up my playthrough a few hours ago, actually:

If there's one downside to playing on Switch, it'd have to be the lack of a proper D-pad. I found myself making accidental inputs with the joystick a little more frequently than I'd like to admit.

 

[Rubberfrog]

Great to hear Nintendo Switch Online is already bringing in new fans! I reckon you'll enjoy the game. Don't be afraid to use save states, though -- it can be a grueling challenge for first-timers.

I finished up my playthrough a few hours ago, actually:

If there's one downside to playing on Switch, it'd have to be the lack of a proper D-pad. I found myself making accidental inputs with the joystick a little more frequently than I'd like to admit.

Interesting you should say that. I actually find it quite easier with the joystick, up to the point where the grid-based movement is actually bearable. I mean, the 2nd Startropics will forever be my preferred favorite of the series, with its 8-way movement, but my opinion of the first is rising now.