B.G. Willers

Another frothy ale. I love the Norn. Yes, you occasionally see characters passed out in the snow. Parents, check the ESRB rating!

A misty valley.

One of the tasks asked of me was to feed fish to the bear cubs.

Subterranean cave. Isn’t that the only kind?

Looking up out of the valley this time.

Some kind of mining operation going on here.

I love the lighting in this game. The way the snow glistens, the rugged shadows on the rocks. It’s a little surreal, but not over the top.

Peering down into a ravine.

Statues of the Norn Spirits.

Just another mountain skyline. They’re pretty much all amazing in every direction.

Passing through Lion’s Arch on my way to Rata Sum. If you play the game, this is a scene you’ll see a hundred times, but it deserves to be appreciated just the same. Love the way the city rises into the distance.  All of course you can go explore up close!

Enjoying a stranger’s balcony.

Now in Rata Sum.  Asura specialize in technology, everywhere you look there’s something sufficiently advanced enough to be considered magic.

Looking towards the city center, with two Asura chatting it up next to me.

From city center looking back to where I was standing in the previous picture.

Crafting stations. One part of the game I’ve barely scratched the surface in.

Asura dock and more fantastic lighting.

Finished up my day by swimming with the whales.

I could get along with these people.

Distant Peaks

A greener area in the foothills.

There is lots of turmoil in the world, but there are still some quiet and serene, even happy, corners of it.

Taking in the view after navigating a jumping puzzle.

1. NES – Super Mario Bros. 3: It’s rare these days that a game feels fresh, new and exciting. Especially when it comes to a sequel. But that is precisely how Super Mario Bros. 3 felt when it came out. Graphically, it has pushed the NES where it had never been before. New ideas like the World Map and item stash are still in use today over 20 years later. I may be wrong, but I believe that Super Mario Bros. 3 was the first game I ever bought and paid for with my own money. What a great investment.

1. Gameboy – The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening: This is pretty close to being the best Gameboy game AND Gameboy Color game. Link’s Awakening set the tone for numerous Gameboy Zelda games to follow. The story was quite weird… but when it comes to playing Zelda anywhere, any time. This game is possibly the best. Carrying around a game of this magnitude anywhere you go back in the day was pretty darn impressive, when most handheld games were 5 card draw poker games and bad segmented LCD games.

1. Super Nintendo – Donkey Kong Country: This list could easily turn into the Mario & Zelda list. But my SNES exposure is severely limited compared to the other consoles. I never had one growing up so I was limited to playing what my friends had at their house. There may be better SNES games but I have probably spent the most time playing this one. It was such a fantastic platformer. The graphics were truly impressive, and it was more than just your standard run and jump game. The levels had a definite rhythm to them. You bounce a long and hit combo’s of enemies or tires to just kind of bound though a level, just like a monkey hopping from tree to tree. I recently acquired this game and have been loving it all over again!

1. Gameboy Color – The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons: Okay, I have to do it. The second Zelda game makes its apperance. This is literally one of my favorite Zelda games. The seasons mechanic offered a fun and sometime confounding twist to the world. Certian seasons allowed you to reach different areas. For instance you could walk across a frozen lake in winter, or climb up a vine covered cliff in summer. The catch was you could only change the seasons while standing atop a stump. So solving the season puzzles could often be a challenge. There was also a companion game to this one called Oracle of Ages. A game I never played but hope to snatch up some day. Maybe it’s even better than this one?

1. Nintendo 64 – Mario Kart 64: When this game came out, something about it immediately resonated with me.  Mario Kart 64 was my first experience in the Mario Kart series and since then it’s undoubtedly taken up more hours of my life than any other single game.  I still like sitting down and cranking out some Time Trials and seeing if I can even get close to my old times.  But what I miss about Mario Kart 64 is the awesome battles we used to have with my friends.  So much fun nailing somebody with a green shell on Block Fort.  Ahh, the memories.

1. Gameboy Advance – Mario Kart Super Circuit: Oh hey. What do you know, two Mario Kart games back to back. That’s nice… But it’s true! Mario Kart Super Circuit on the GBA was a fantastic game that often gets overlooked. The GBA was finally cranking out portable games that you didn’t have to sacrifice much to get the whole game experience. Super Circuit was anything but a stripped down version of Super Mario Kart on the SNES. It had more tracks, more items, better visuals, and better sound. In all honestly, I bought a GBA just to play this one game.

1. Gamecube – Eternal Darkness: I don’t like scary movies, and I don’t even care much for Survival Horror games either. But Eternal Darkness is something a little different. Yes, the plot is grim and morbid, the scenes are often gruesome, but at its heart, there is a compelling story that keeps you wondering what’s next, and some absolutely fantastic gameplay. Best played in a dark room with surround sound cranked to the max.

1. DS – Animal Crossing: Wild World: Animal Crossing on Gamecube was a fantastic game, but it had two obvious shortcomings. It was cumbersome to travel to other people’s towns, and you couldn’t take it with you! Animal Crossing is the perfect game to have on the go, because you really should play it every day, and that can be hard to do! But if you have it on you, it’s easy to pop it out for 10 minutes, do your dailies, and get back to the real world! If you had to pick one version of the game to play, I would recommend this one!

1. Wii – The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword:  For me, this one isn’t even close. There were some great games on Wii, but there’s a wide margin between Skyward Sword and everything before it. It’s one of the most artistically beautiful games in the series striking a style balance somewhere between Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. But the most fun part about this game is… playing it. I never did completely fall in love with motion control, but Skward Sword changed that. If every motion control game was this fun to play and this natural, well, I wouldn’t have much of a bank account left. Take my money!

1. 3DS – Super Mario 3D Land: You don’t know how close I was to putting Mario Kart 7 here. I mean, it’s still on my notes right now, but I audibled at the last moment. I just got to thinking, which game is more 3DS-ey? Mario Kart 7 is a fantastic game, and I mean to imply no shortcomings. But Super Mario 3D Land is the defacto 3DS game. It just is. It’s probably the single best use of 3D on the system. It’s got it’s own unique quirkiness and level design that kind of set it apart from your traditional Mario release.  Super tight controls, and tons of throwbacks to games gone by.  It’s the game the 3DS should have launched with.

1. Wii U – Nintendoland: It’s “just” a mini-game collection. It’s no Wii Sports. It’s not a “complete” game. All things I heard, and for a large part bought into before the Wii U came out. I wasn’t looking forward to Nintendoland all that much myself. But after playing it, and most importantly, playing it with a group, it’s the most pure flippin fun I’ve had playing video games since the N64. And for me, that’s saying something! There’s plenty of stuff to do solo in the game, but playing with friends is where Nintendoland, and truthfully, the Wii U itself shine brightest.

10. PlayStation: I’m going to lump all the PlayStation controllers into one. And had the original PS1 controller never evolved, it might have actually ended up higher on this list. But I have one major gripe with the Dual Shock X controller… and that is the analog stick placement. When they originally debuted the analog (after someone else paved the way…) it felt super pasted on. But the d-pad, button layout and overall comfort of the controller is outstanding.

9. Arcade Joystick/Buttons: I love the old arcades. The control panels were not only built to withstand daily abuse and grind, but were also purpose designed for the games themselves. I still remember the button layouts on some of my favorite old arcade games. Everything on a good arcade machine feels solid and provides great feedback as you play.

8. Nintendo Entertainment System: This isn’t necessarily a list of the most influential controllers, but not including this controller on the list would feel certainly wrong. Today the NES controller feels really small to me. When I hold the controller it’s obvious that my hands have grown since I first used it. And it serves to remind me of the youth I can never truly return to. Be that as it may… it’s still a brutally efficient design. And the fact that it still works almost 30 years later after countless hours of use proves it LITERALLY stands the test of time.

7. Super Nintendo: I remember when the SNES first came out and my first thought of the system was, “Look at all the buttons on that controller. How do you remember what each button does!?” But once you play Super Mario World, you realize how perfect it is. The way one set of action buttons is concave and one is convex, the excellent D-pad, and the rarely used, but perfectly positioned shoulder buttons… there’s absolutely nothing about this controller I would change. It’s the ultimate 2-D controller in my opinion.

6. Wii U Gamepad: I haven’t spent nearly as much time with this controller as the others for obvious reasons. But from the time I spent with it, I’m blown away. It’s lighter and more comfortable than it looks. It’s solid and it is connected wirelessly to the console from my couch AND my toilet. It has a built in universal remote. I could go on. Nintendo has always pushed controllers where they’ve never gone before, and they’ve done it again with the Wii U.

5. Gamecube: The Gamecube was probably my most anticipated console of all time. And when the local store in Manhattan finally got a Gamecube kiosk setup and I laid hands on the Gamecube controller for the first time, all of the things I had imagined about it were finally realized. To this day, the GCN controller is the most comfortable controller I’ve ever held. The handles are perfectly molded. It just feels like an extension of yourself. And best of all, the analog stick was infinitely improved over the N64 stick which has the lifespan of a gnat.

4. Wii: For a second I thought to myself, why am I putting the Wiimote so high on the list?  Yes it does some things no other controller does, and it did enable an entirely new way to play.  But so many of those games were just waggling the controller around in lieu of pressing a button.  Then I remembered “Skyward Sword”.  The latest Zelda game used the Wiimote to its fullest potential and with great finesse.  In the right hands, the Wiimote can do great things, kinda like the Master Sword I guess.  Any shortcomings in Wii controls are no fault of its controller.  Sadly many developers just never took the time to get it right.

3. Xbox 360: Starting with the Controller S on the original Xbox, somebody finally nailed the design of the perfect layout.  Left analog and action buttons sit squarely and naturally under your thumbs.  D-pad and right analog are only millimeters away.  Trigger fire buttons underneath perfect for shooters and easy to reach shoulder buttons.  Everything was finally where it needed to be, comfortable and solid.  And possibly best of all, a matte finish in a world where every other single piece of electronics is a glossy, fingerprint smudged mess.  I’m one of the few that actually enjoyed the original Xbox controller bohemouth, but I have to admit future iterations again, starting with the Controller S are far more refined.

2. Mouse & Keyboard:  There’s a few genres out there that are only optimally experienced with a keyboard and mouse.  FPS, strategy, and simulation games to name a few.  While it’s been done, I can’t imagine playing many of those games with a controller without feeling like I’m making a serious compromise.  I’m not a huge PC gamer, but I’ve played a few great games long enough to appreciate the level of control and customize-ability the platform offers.  Being able to swap action keys around.  Fine tune sensitivity  and having multiple commands at your fingertips.  After a while your brain forgets about the controls and you just play the game.  Which is what any great controller should do.

1. Nintendo 64:  Okay… no big surprise here if you’ve followed the blog for any length of time.  I am and forever will be hopelessly infatuated with the N64 controller.  Objectively… should it be number 1?  Definitely not.  That joystick gets destroyed under moderate use in just a few months.  But let me tell you, when it’s new and working like intended, it’s silky smooth, and the sensitivity is incredible.  You can simply apply pressure, and not even actually move the control stick itself, and it will cause Mario to creep along ever so slowly.  The button layout is perfect.  Two main action buttons, and the yellow C buttons that, while designed for camera control in games like Super Mario 64, are also perfect for shooters and strafing like in GoldenEye, or simply additional action buttons like in Zelda: Ocarina of Time.  The trigger underneath was always satisfying for firing whatever weapon you happened to be wielding  and the shoulder buttons are large and responsive.  I don’t care if its less than perfect, this is my list, and if you ask me, the N64 controller is the most awesome controller of all time.