Most Anticipated Wii U Games of 2016

2015 is all but extinct, and some might say the same for the Wii U. But there's plenty to be excited about in the coming months! Zelda, Star Fox, and tons of Indie games!

The state of the blog and upcoming changes.

I'm by no means a good writer.

English grammar and punctuation are as elusive to me as Portuguese. But my goal was to turn my passion for Nintendo into something I can share with the world. Not to impress people with my verbal prowess. That being said, blogging is hard. Writing a cohesive piece takes time, passion, and an understanding of the culture. Of those three criteria, time is the most difficult for me to harness.

Is Nintendo relevant in this generation?

As a die-hard Nintendo fan, This is a tough question. To me, Nintendo will always be relevant because they are burned into my memory. Nostalgia plays a big part in why I'm so obsessed (which is true for the vast majority of fan-boys out there).

But there's a whole generation of kids who grew up playing Angry Birds and Minecraft. Kids who's only gaming experience is on smartphones and tablets. And while that, in and of itself, isn't such a bad thing, I'm worried that Nintendo's glory days may be behind us.

How can Nintendo gain ground when the industry seems to have left them in the dust? Let's discuss.

The NES is 30! Here are the games that started it all for me.

It was my older brother's NES. But my parents were adamant that he share with the family, so I got to play occasionally. I was stuck in "younger brother" mode most o the time, having to settle for Luigi, dying too quickly, and having to watch my brother progress leaps and bounds further than me. But I was just happy to be hanging out with my older bro. Which never really goes away.

I was born the year after the NES launched, and my brother was 4 years older than me. So you can see how the dynamic played itself out.

Anywho, here are the games we owned, and what I remember about them.

Some of my favorite Nintendo fan art swag!

Christmas is only a few short months away! It's time to start figuring out what to get the gamer in your life. If they're like me, they are pretty picky about the games they buy, so that's not always a good option. But what about some one-of-a-kind swag!? Here are some of my favorite selections from RedBubble.com

Like this Hylian Shield hoodie! Buy it here.

Yoshi Kong Adventure: The game that never existed.

There is a game that never existed, but only in my, and my older brother's, minds. This game was called Yoshi Kong Adventure. It brought together two Nintendo characters that must have been separated at birth, considering how much their worlds have in common. Or so our pre-teen minds thought.

We imagined a rich high seas sailing quest with multiple continents to explore. We even drew the cover art for what would have been a GameCube game. But alas, Nintendo didn't think our idea had sea legs. And so here lies an idea that never left concept.

but it sure is fun to think about!

The New Dad Gamer: So you want to keep your hobby?

Welcome to my new series on parenting! Well, sort of about parenting. Mostly it's about video games, with a smattering of marriage/parenting advice. Or more specifically, how to maintain your hobby (and your sanity) with a new baby in the picture.

Today we're going to talk about relationships and balancing them with video games. There's a bit of introspection involved to, so stay with me.

But first! A personal story:

Why Nintendo will outlive us all.

It's 1997. It's 6 am. A full hour before I even need to wake up to get to school on time, and even though my peers are probably still enjoying their final precious winks, I'm wide awake. Why? Because I'm not 11 year old Dan Caporello anymore. I'm Fox McCloud, piloting my Arwing through Corneria. Sweat beading on my forehead. Every hit shaking my skinny arms thanks to my new Rumble Pak.

This was me almost 20 years ago, and over all these years, one thing has not changed. Nintendo still makes the best video games of all time.

What if Apple owned Nintendo?

Wired recently did an interesting podcast about Apple and hardcore gamers. If you haven't already, I suggest you give it a listen Here.

This podcast got me thinking a little bit. Apple being the one to put the likes of Xbox, Playstation and Nintendo out of business is a scary proposition. Partially because it seems so incredibly possible! They talk all about it on the podcast. But one thing they only touched on briefly is probably the most powerful weapon in the Apple versus modern gaming battle.

Intellectual properties.

What Nintendo games are you looking forward to this Fall? (Updated)

Well, you definitely won't be bored this Fall. Nintendo keeps giving us reasons to power up our Wii Us and 3DSs this holiday season. I hope my family doesn't mind me taking some much needed gaming "me time."

Here are the games I'm looking forward to the most!

Incase you missed all the announcements, here's the grand list:
Nintendo's game lineup for the rest of the year. Via Kotaku.

Why Windwaker is better than Ocarina of Time.

Before I delve in to what will undoubtably anger the large majority of Nintendo fans, I want to make something clear. I'm not arguing that Windwaker (WW) is more influential or more important than Ocarina of Time (OoT), so put down that pitchfork. My intention is to show off Windwaker's strengths in light of what most people consider the greatest game of all time.

Also, I realize there is a number of you who haven't finished WW or OoT. And for you, I've pre labeled the spoilers in Blue text.

OK! let's get into the nitty gritty.

What does the "U" in Wii U stand for?

A lot goes in to making a home gaming console. Everything from market trends to user-base, third party support to ease of use is considered. So how did Nintendo land on the TV/tablet combo? And was that decision a good one? Lets talk about what people say about the Wii U and weather or not we should be worried about Nintendo as a whole.

In Defense of the Virtual Console.

Recently, Rare released an anthology of its best games on the Xbox One. Since then, many phrases have been thrown around the Internet, comparing Rare Replay to Nintendo's virtual console. Things like "Xbox has more N64 games then the Wii U!" And "Rare knows how to update their backlog and Nintendo doesn't!"

Words like these sent my Nintendo fanboy side into an outrage! But I stay calm, and politely decline to comment... But sometimes you just gotta let it out.

Rare's backlog is so infinitesimally small compared to Nintendo's. Rare puts 30 games on a disc, and everyone praises them. Why does it take Nintendo so long to release games on the Virtual Console? Because there are thousands of them!

The near future for Nintendo

Nintendo just released a few interesting pieces of info regarding their sales numbers and future software.

Here's the breakdown, and my take on the near future for Nintendo...

What I learned about myself at Classic Game Fest

I found myself carrying twice my body weight in camera equipment as I took my first step into the Palmer Event Center. It's not the biggest convention space in Austin, but it's formidable none the less. The air conditioning couldn't have hit my skin sooner as I walked across the shiny concrete floor. It is summer in Texas after all. There's a row of vintage televisions all lined up with Atari 2600 consoles plugged in. They're all playing different games, but somehow the bright colors and the random bleeps and bloops sounds like music to my ears. We've arrived.

Why Disney might be interested in buying Nintendo.

Disney and Nintendo have a lot in common. Both appeal to the whole family when the entire industry is going gritty and realistic. They both own some of the most successful and recognizable IPs in there respective industries. They both are notable innovators.

But what if the two companies became one? This idea isn't outside of the realm of possibility.

Mario's fireball on various other Amiibo.

I had an extra destroyed Mario Amiibo lying around, so I decided to have some fun!

Shenanigans to follow...

"STOP COMPLAINING!" Episode 1 - Splatoon!

Welcome to "Stop Complaining!" A themed article where I take a topic people complain about try to bring some light to the subject.

Today's rant is all about Splatoon! People seem to love hating on this game. Yet everyone agrees that it's addictive and fun to play. So why all the hate? Let's dive in.

What the NX isn't.

There has recently been a lot of speculation and rumor going on about Nintendo's next console. And I'd like to take a different approach. Let's talk about what the NX isn't going to be. Or, at least my take on it from what I know about Nintendo.

These predictions are based on pure hearsay. That's pretty much all we have to go on right now, and I'm not going to pretend that I have some magic information to share. But hopefully it'll spark some interesting discussion.

Just launched our Domain and Twitter account! Also, what to expect from us.

What can you expect from @TheBlockFort on Twitter? Lots of great stuff! Predictions, contests, links to some of out favorite Nintendo content around the internet, etc...

But more importantly, the personality and charm that makes The Block Fort what it is. So let's see that "Followers" number rise!

You can now find us at theblockfort.com! Can you feel the excitement!?


I realize that it's overly optimistic of me to assume people are just going to jump onto a bandwagon that they don't fully understand. But I'm excited. And I'm pretty confident that we have something unique here at The Block Fort.

One thing I want to keep pursuing is community. Although I'm the admin for this site, I want our readers opinions and thoughts to be heard loud and clear. Even the unpopular opinions. If I write something, and you think it's 100% wrong, say so! I'm not afraid of the criticism and I even welcome an open conversation, as long as everyone's respectful and you're ready for my witty rebuttal.

Being a Nintendo fan, I'm always finding a balance between past and present. Part of the pull for me has to do with the fond memories I have playing through all generations of Nintendo consoles. The ups, the downs, the in-betweens, all of it matters. and contrasting past experiences with modern games can be an eye opening experience. I'm all for writing about retro games as much as I am current ones. And analyzing Nintendo's arc as a whole can be fascinating too.

There's lots to talk about. And lots of you to do. I hope you'll jump in for the ride and see where it takes us! Welcome!

Let's talk about Splatfest!

Yesterday, Millions of Splatoon players picked a side, and fought valiantly to prove once and for all who was the superior domesticated animal. Cats or Dogs. But before I go into my experience, I'll go over the rules briefly for those who weren't able to participate.

Before Splatfest, players were able to choose a side, Cats or Dogs. They got an in-game shirt to show their pride. On July 4th, from midnight (PST) to 11:59pm, the entire Splatoon experience changed. Suddenly the plaza was transformed into a big party! Cat v Dog Miiverse posts were everywhere, and all the music was different. It was pretty cool. Everyone playing Splatoon that day played Turf War against their rival side. Dogs fought Cats and Cats fought Dogs.

I went into Splatfest with what a pretty good idea of what was going on. I spend a good amount of time online researching whats happening with the games I play, So I didn't know exactly how unprepared for the experience I was. Overall I did very well! How did you fare?

(SPOILERS about prizes and which team won to follow)

Welcome to The Block Fort! And a little about me.

Today is a great day. Today I start The Block Fort.

First, a little about me. I've been playing Nintendo since I was young enough to accidentally erase my older brothers save file in Dragon Warrior for the NES. He was understandably upset, but what a way to mark my introduction into the world of video games. I've always loved the way a video game was more like reading a book than watching a movie. Movies show you exactly what the director wants you to see. Books however leave a lot up to the imagination. how your character looks, reacts, how the world feels, is all up in your brain. Video games offer the same kind of freedom, while maintaining the directors vision. The freedom to explore, to be whoever you imagine yourself to be, this is what drew me to video games. And it was Nintendo who created the worlds I wanted to explore. Donkey Kong Country, Hyrule, Yoshi's Island, Tallon IV, Unova, Dream World, Corneria, The Mushroom Kingdom, I could go on and on.