asianweekly northwest
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DECEMBER 31, 2016 – JANUARY 6, 2017
MARIO from 4 with truffle shavings in the case of the latte and the world’s best known video game character in the case of “Super Mario Run.” Players can download the game for free and play three of the 24 available “worlds.” This takes only a few minutes and leaves one extremely dissatisfied. It’s like dining at a pricey restaurant knowing you can afford only the appetizer. THE FIX: Nintendo should slash the price in half and offer more content for free, says Jordan Edelson, CEO of Appetizer Mobile, a mobile app development agency in New York. Oh, and once the price is cut, it would be a good idea to make the game available on Android, too. After all, most people in the world have Android phones. Android users tend to be less willing than iPhone users to pay for apps, so a price cut is essential.
STAYING CONNECTED
The game requires a constant internet connection. It’s understandable with “Pokemon Go,” which uses your physical location as part of game play. There is no obvious reason need for it with “Mario,” and that just leads to frustrations. Why can’t one play on the subway? Or in airplane mode on the airplane? What if someone is away from Wi-Fi and has a limited cellular data plan? Sorry! In a statement, Nintendo said connectivity “allows us to offer a variety of features and services that enhance the play experience. ‘Super Mario Run’ is not a static experience, but rather one that players can continue to return to again and again to enjoy something new and unexpected.” The features Nintendo cites include the ability to play across multiple devices, limited-time rewards, and access to player data and scores for challenges with other
SHELF from 9 no hope for him living up to his father’s dreams of Western masculinity. This is because Peter knows he is really a girl. Growing up, and even once he’s an adult, he struggles with his gender identity, not knowing what’s “wrong” with him. And in the midst of all this are Peter’s sisters, who are there for him and accept him for who he is — no matter how their relationship may be or how far apart they may live. Fu gives readers a glimpse of how it could be for a transgender person and captures some of the issues they might face while trying to figure out their identity.
“Quackers”
Written and illustrated by Liz Wong Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2016 Quackers is a duck. Don’t let the paws and whiskers fool you. Quackers lives in a duck pond with all the other ducks. So that makes him a duck. Then he meets Mittens, another duck that looks like him. But Mittens calls himself a cat and introduces Quackers to other cats, who also look like him. Written and illustrated by Liz Wong, “Quackers” is a fun and adorable story about accepting yourself and embracing who you are, no matter what others think. It’s also about accepting others and overlooking any differences there may be between you.
“China Rich Girlfriend”
By Kevin Kwan Knopf Doubleday, 2015 Rachel Chu and Nick Young’s wedding is just around the corner. As happy as she may be about it, Rachel can’t help but feel a little disappointed that her birth father won’t be there to witness it. A chance car accident changes all of this and reveals his identity, throwing the couple into the world of Shanghai splendor. If you thought Nick’s family in Singapore was rich (see “Crazy Rich Asians”), you haven’t met this side of Rachel’s family. They’re China
35 YEARS
players. None of these sound essential to an enjoyable playing experience. THE FIX: Drop the connectivity requirement. “If you are trying to position it as a casual game (that can be played) with one hand, you want people to be able to play it wherever they are,” Edelson said.
WHAT NINTENDO GOT RIGHT
If “Super Mario Run” gets over these two big hurdles, there is still a chance the game could be a success. After all, Nintendo fans have been waiting for a mobile Mario for nearly a decade, pretty much ever since mobile games have existed, so they are likely to give the Japanese gaming giant a second chance. With this much waiting, expectations have understandably been high. Critics, who judge the game based on what it’s like to play it, have given it an average of 78 out of 100 on the game reviews aggregator
rich. And just as in Kwan’s debut novel, we see once again how more money just means more problems, and often on a much larger scale.
“Heroine Complex”
By Sarah Kuhn DAW Books Inc., 2016 When it comes to her job as the personal assistant to her best friend and diva superheroine Aveda Jupiter, Evie Tanaka is a rockstar. But when it comes to the rest of her life, she’s a hot mess — struggling to stand up for herself and raise her teenaged sister. This all changes when Aveda is sidelined and Evie has to take her place. “Heroine” is the story of a sidekick who becomes, as the title implies, the heroine of her own story. In addition to Evie, Kuhn has created strong Asian American female characters, from Aveda, who has no problem going after what she wants, to Bea, Evie’s 16-year-old sister who is strong and wise beyond her years.
“Something in Between”
By Melissa de la Cruz Harlequin Teen, 2016 Jasmine de los Santos has worked hard to get good grades, with the hopes of getting scholarships to help pay for college. And while it works and she receives a prestigious government scholarship that would pay for all four years at the school of her choice, she learns that her Filipino immigrant family is actually undocumented and they could soon be facing deportation. “Something” tells just one story of what it means to be American and how the American Dream is not always possible. De la Cruz also shows the importance of community support and what it can mean to people in Jasmine’s family’s position to have people standing behind them and rooting for them. Samantha can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.
湖景墓園
STAMP from 1 series originated with the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA), known currently as OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates. It began urging the USPS in the late 1980s to issue the first U.S. stamp to honor the contributions of Chinese Americans. According to the OCA, Jean Chen, a Georgia chapter member, was inspired by an old photograph that showed only Caucasian workers in a book about the history of building the Transcontinental Railroad. “This obvious slight of the numerous Chinese laborers involved … incensed Chen, who felt that the Asian contributions to the U.S. had been ignored for too long,” the OCA wrote. After drumming up support from other OCA chapters around the country, the USPS issued its first Lunar New Year stamp celebrating the Year of the Rooster in 1992, and Clarence Lee of Hawaii was commissioned to design it. He also designed the U.S. stamp for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Lee died in 2015.
Part two
After the first Lunar New Year stamp series ended in 2004, the OCA lobbied to renew the series. In 2008, the USPS unveiled the first stamp in the second Lunar New Year series designed by Kam Mak. According to the USPS, Mak’s stamps combine elements from the first series to create continuity. The 2017 stamp features an original painting by Mak of a rooster on a red envelope (hongbao). Art director and stamp designer Ethel Kessler incorporated elements from the previous series of Lunar New Year stamps — Clarence Lee’s intricate cut-paper design of a rooster and the Chinese character for “rooster,” drawn in grass-style calligraphy by Lau Bun. Staff can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.
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Lake View Cemetery ☆西雅圖首創墓園☆ 自1872年起服務西北岸社區 非營利獨立協會
傳統式紀念碑
Metacritic. This counts as “generally favorable.” And they are right. Nintendo has done a good job translating Mario’s classic, side-scrolling world to a mobile screen. Mario runs without players needing to do anything, so they can focus on collecting coins and knocking out bigger enemies (usually by jumping on them). The music is music to the ears of any 1980s and 1990s Nintendo fan, and yes, you can play with one hand. Users, though, have rated it 5.6 out of 10 on Metacritic. Many are angry about the price and the inability to play while commuting. And since it’s users and not critics who will go out and buy the game — or not — Nintendo may have a problem on its hands.
Lake View Cemetery Seattle’s Pioneer Cemetery Est. 1872 An Independent, NonProfit Association
Featuring
‧陵墓地下室 ‧骨灰靈位 ‧墓碑、紀念碑 ‧土葬福地
Traditional SidebySide Monument Properties
206-322-1582
206-322-1582
1554 15th Ave East (North Capitol Hill)
1554 15th Ave East (North Capitol Hill)