Nintendo Says You're Playing Kid Icarus: Uprising Wrong

[theultimateend]

If your HANDHELD console game comes with a stand to play the game then the Developer is doing it wrong.

Also, honestly, who cares about multiplayer balance in a Kid Icarus game?

I didn't even know it HAD multiplayer? >_>

If you had been paying the slightest passive attention, you would have known that Nintendo had been pushing Kid Icarus's online multiplayer as a key feature.

Weird. I wonder why. Seems like an odd thing to focus on, its not like KI screams multiplayer.

That just seems to get slapped on everything these days.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

I haven't played the game but would it not be easier to completely change the control scheme to something like every fps/tps on console and ditch the scheme which requires a plastic stand?...

There is no scheme which requires the stand.

In my experience the stand is useful and comfortable IN GENERAL when I happen to be at home playing at a table, which I often do, but that would apply equally to if I were playing any other game or any other portable system like the PSP for instance.


In any case, the controls for uprising don't bother me, and neither did Metroid Prime Hunters which was praised for its controls at the time if I remember correctly.

Nope. About the only complaint about Metroid Prime Hunters IS the control scheme. Difference is that game came free with the DS in demo THEN in full form so it didn't really feel like a 'real release' at that point.

This game charges for $40 and hands you a stand basically saying, "Yo I heard you don't like carpal tunnel. Use this pal." What they should have done was use the complaints about MP: Hunters' controls and fixed the problem when they were told 6 years ago the first time.

 

[Snotnarok]

Right...says the company including a large plastic device to play a handheld game easier.

 

[NeutralDrow]

Wait, let me get this straight...Nintendo comes out and says "this is the best control scheme we could come up with for this game, because the other two were impossible to add and easier to use but less responsive, respectively. This is why we didn't add the latter as an option. Here's how you can make it more comfortable."

And that somehow translates to "ur doin' it wrong?"

 

[144_v1legacy]

I don't think the problem here is with the button assignment. We've all see this one-hand setup work just fine with plenty of other games, as has been pointed out by those before me. If anything, the issue is with the software's response to the stylus movement, though I don't know if I even agree with that. I wonder if Nintendo would have gotten all this flak if they hadn't included the stand at all. This setup worked with Starfox DS, Metroid Hunters, and plenty others. I think people are pouncing on the aftermath of Zero Punctuation.

 

[ExileNZ]

I love the way you're expected to just sit there holding a stylus in the middle of the screen for hours on end. Unless Japanese train rides have gotten any shorter (again, assuming it's even possible to play without that stupid stand).

 

[VinLAURiA]

I'm left-handed and have no problem with the controls, and I don't even have a Circle Pad Pro. Hell, they so don't bother me that it's still my game of the year. This is almost an identical scheme to Metroid Prime Hunters, which no one had a problem with. Could it be the fact that people are bitching for the sake of bitching due to this being a high-profile game or... dare I say it, parroting Yahtzee?

You're not endearing yourself to the Croshaw by bleating his opinions, people. This "I'm disillusioned because I never grew up with Nintendo" and "IT COMES WITH A STAND" junk - let's face it, are you guys saying that because you actually agree with it or because Yahtzee said it?

 

[SuperTrainStationH]

...I think people are pouncing on the aftermath of Zero Punctuation.

I think a few people watch Jimquisition and Zero Punctuation as a substitute for forming their own opinion on anything and act as though whatever they say in their videos constitute infallible statements.

And then there those who go nuts whenever they say something they disagree with and start running around with their internet pitch forks of textual outrage.

 

[SAMAS]

So, if ZP's review is anything to go by, you need to move with the control pad/analog stick, pretty shoulder buttons and/or normal buttons AND use the stylus.

Now, forgive my ignorance having neither a 3DS or ever playing one (though having a normal DS), but that means controlling the pad with your left hand and the buttons/stylus with your right hand, correct?
Well I have one thing to say about that. Screw you, I'm left handed and cannot draw or use the stylus with my right hand. I'm not ambidextrous either. So sod off "Mr. Developer" for telling me YOUR control scheme is in the right and I'd be in the wrong for playing a game you created.

Ah, no. You move with the analog stick, fire with the L button (R if you're left-handed and have the 2nd stick accessory), aim with the stylus. It works fine. The problem is that it puts all of the 3DS' weight on one wrist, and the 3DS is noticeably heavier than the DS Lite/i. After a while (usually within the time it takes to complete a stage or two), you start to feel the strain.

The 3DS is ~20 grams(~3/4ths of an ounce) heavier than the DS Lite and DSi, and 40 grams(~1.5 ounces) lighter than the beast of a handheld that was the original DS. I don't remember anyone complaining about sore wrists with all of the games that used the D-pad/face buttons and the shoulder buttons while requiring extensive use of the stylus. Phantom Hourglass anyone? Metroid Prime: Hunters? You plop the DS on your pinky, cradle it between the pad of your thumb and your middle and ring finger, use your thumb for the D-pad/face buttons/circle pad, and your pointer for the shoulder button. The only problems arise if you've got really small or really big hands.

And yet my wrist usually hurts after a round or two of Uprising, which makes me think there may be some merit to Sakurai's claims of needing a lighter touch.

 

[crazyarms33]

I would not have titled it, because this story does not even deserve to be published at all. It is not news. It doesn't tell us anything we can't figure out for ourselves, or that we don't know already.

Look at the source of this article, which is provided at the bottom of the story. (http://uk.ds.ign.com/articles/122/1224194p1.html). Notice how the Escapist article reports only a small snippet - and not even a very important one at that - of what is in fact a larger and more comprehensive interview about Kid Icarus Uprising in general. So the author sifts through all of this information, and what does he choose? A harmless suggestion by Sakurai about a few ways that players can play their game if they want a more enjoyable experience. And of course, the author turns it into "Nintendo (the entire company, rather than just Sakurai) says you're (appeal to the reader's emotions by making it about YOU) playing Kid Icarus Uprising wrong (where, tell me, WHERE is the word 'wrong' in the interview?)."

Notice that the explanation for 'why' Sakurai says what he says is given in the article itself. But just take a look at the comments on this article* - judging by the number of people who express outrage at "Nintendo telling them they are wrong" and little else, the vast majority of people seem to have taken one look at the title and gone straight to the comments. Those little details for 'why' a different control scheme was unfeasible don't seem to have mattered to the readers of the article - they fall to the periphery while the outrage takes center focus, and who can blame them? The title of the article tells readers how to feel before they even know what they're reading; in other words, this story has been spun. It is, for lack of a better word, sensationalism.

So to answer your question, assuming that this article even deserves to be written, I would have titled it "In Defense of Kid Icarus Uprising's Controls: Director Masahiro Sakurai responds to critics and even compares Pit's adventure to Super Smash Bros." See, that's impartial, and actually prepares us for what we're about to read.

You may have noticed that this title is the same as the title of IGN's parent article. That's because IGN posted the real story - unlike this spun article, which, were it not for the unfitting title, would have actually been a relatively fair read.


*For comparison, look at the comments on IGN's article. Notice how their comments are generally about their annoyance with the controls, rather than about their outrage at Nintendo's audacity to tell them that they're "playing it wrong." Even more evidence that this story has been spun.

By your own argument, the title of the article puts people in a certain mind set. I can get on board with that. However, I would also argue that IGN's article does the exact same thing, in fact, I would argue that ANY title does that. I say this not out of spite, though it will probably seem that way... But ANY time that Super Smash Brothers is mentioned Nintendo fans generally think "GREAT GAME" and drawing a comparison between the two games doesn't really seem straight up to me because then they are comparing it to all the good things about Smash Bros. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty ok with that, it has happened before.

I was not meaning to imply that the escapist was 100% right or wrong either way. I apologize if that's how I came across. I think though that for people who are/were upset about the controls, that quote IS the crux of the article. I understand that they wanted a different control set up and they went with what they thought was best, but it still stunk for a lot of people. And then those people were essentially told "Quit squeezing it too hard, that's not how it was meant to be played" as an acknowledgement of their issues which is pretty weak.

This is further exacerbated, for me personally at least, by what I perceive to be arrogance on his part. It's almost as if he is saying "Yeah, Smash Brothers got some shit too, but I was proved right in the end. So do the same thing they did...Sit down, shut up, play, and get used to the controls."

To sum up: Yes, this article gives a slanted view of the interview, and does focus on the quote w/o a lot of context. However that doesn't mean that the quote is harmless, especially if you're on the of people who were irked or upset by the default controls.

-Cheers

 

[Samus Aaron]

I would not have titled it, because this story does not even deserve to be published at all. It is not news. It doesn't tell us anything we can't figure out for ourselves, or that we don't know already.

Look at the source of this article, which is provided at the bottom of the story. (http://uk.ds.ign.com/articles/122/1224194p1.html). Notice how the Escapist article reports only a small snippet - and not even a very important one at that - of what is in fact a larger and more comprehensive interview about Kid Icarus Uprising in general. So the author sifts through all of this information, and what does he choose? A harmless suggestion by Sakurai about a few ways that players can play their game if they want a more enjoyable experience. And of course, the author turns it into "Nintendo (the entire company, rather than just Sakurai) says you're (appeal to the reader's emotions by making it about YOU) playing Kid Icarus Uprising wrong (where, tell me, WHERE is the word 'wrong' in the interview?)."

Notice that the explanation for 'why' Sakurai says what he says is given in the article itself. But just take a look at the comments on this article* - judging by the number of people who express outrage at "Nintendo telling them they are wrong" and little else, the vast majority of people seem to have taken one look at the title and gone straight to the comments. Those little details for 'why' a different control scheme was unfeasible don't seem to have mattered to the readers of the article - they fall to the periphery while the outrage takes center focus, and who can blame them? The title of the article tells readers how to feel before they even know what they're reading; in other words, this story has been spun. It is, for lack of a better word, sensationalism.

So to answer your question, assuming that this article even deserves to be written, I would have titled it "In Defense of Kid Icarus Uprising's Controls: Director Masahiro Sakurai responds to critics and even compares Pit's adventure to Super Smash Bros." See, that's impartial, and actually prepares us for what we're about to read.

You may have noticed that this title is the same as the title of IGN's parent article. That's because IGN posted the real story - unlike this spun article, which, were it not for the unfitting title, would have actually been a relatively fair read.


*For comparison, look at the comments on IGN's article. Notice how their comments are generally about their annoyance with the controls, rather than about their outrage at Nintendo's audacity to tell them that they're "playing it wrong." Even more evidence that this story has been spun.

By your own argument, the title of the article puts people in a certain mind set. I can get on board with that. However, I would also argue that IGN's article does the exact same thing, in fact, I would argue that ANY title does that. I say this not out of spite, though it will probably seem that way... But ANY time that Super Smash Brothers is mentioned Nintendo fans generally think "GREAT GAME" and drawing a comparison between the two games doesn't really seem straight up to me because then they are comparing it to all the good things about Smash Bros. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty ok with that, it has happened before.

I was not meaning to imply that the escapist was 100% right or wrong either way. I apologize if that's how I came across. I think though that for people who are/were upset about the controls, that quote IS the crux of the article. I understand that they wanted a different control set up and they went with what they thought was best, but it still stunk for a lot of people. And then those people were essentially told "Quit squeezing it too hard, that's not how it was meant to be played" as an acknowledgement of their issues which is pretty weak.

This is further exacerbated, for me personally at least, by what I perceive to be arrogance on his part. It's almost as if he is saying "Yeah, Smash Brothers got some shit too, but I was proved right in the end. So do the same thing they did...Sit down, shut up, play, and get used to the controls."

To sum up: Yes, this article gives a slanted view of the interview, and does focus on the quote w/o a lot of context. However that doesn't mean that the quote is harmless, especially if you're on the of people who were irked or upset by the default controls.

-Cheers

I can see how Sakurai's quote does suggest some degree of arrogance - it can definitely be interpreted as a "Suck it up and play it right" statement. My frustration with this article is not that it addresses this legitimate concern, but that the author puts this particular part of the interview out front and center in the title, making it the focus of the article. If Sakurai's comment is indeed arrogant and therefore deserves attention, it is not the reporter's responsibility to point that out; readers should be able to judge that for themselves.

And even if I can excuse the author for doing this, I can't get past the fact that the title doesn't even mention an actual quote, but it can be easily construed as one by people who neglect to read a little more into the story.

Anyway, I don't mean to slam the Escapist in general or to blithely support IGN (which I don't even frequent), or vice-versa, I just wanted to call out this particular article. Although I wouldn't have really felt the need to chastise this article if I hadn't noticed a trend in this kind of reporting before. That said, it's an infrequent problem.

 

[Atmos Duality]

The controls are easily the worst parts of the game, and I'll say that even though I've adapted to them (Multiplayer teaches you pretty quickly).

The main change I would have made is including something like a thumb-dot-stylus, instead of that useless chunk of plastic that shipped with the game.

(For once, I cannot see a second analog stick working here. the game is pretty fast, and the stylus allows for exceptionally quick AIMING...just not for turning the whole camera, you really have to anticipate where your target is going).