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2016 WEEK 4 SANTA WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE!!! - DONKEY KONG JR.
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Ladies and gentlemen the 2016 NA Contests are just about ready to wrap up the first month of competition!
Time seems to be flying by. It seems like only yesterday our contestants were firing up Super Mario Bros. to kick off the season in the chilly dead of Winter.
With Spring now starting to peek it's head out, Donkey Kong jr. is less than 24 hours away from being done for this year.
Lots of great stories this week... let's get to 'em!
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TOP SCORERS THIS WEEK "SEEING RED" AFTER LATE SCORE SUBMISSION NUKES COMPETITION
Steady climb of high scores are completely destroyed after Red posts an earth shattering Saturday score
The high scoring kicked off this week with
skinnygrinny "
throwing some chum in the water" when he set the initial high water mark of
294,500 about a day into Donkey Kong jr.
Mod
bearcat_doug quickly bested that score by breaking the 300k mark - only to be overtaken by this year's overall points leader
bertsampson who posted a (then best) score of
324,800.
Bert held on to the lead for a while before
erizisto appeared in a cloud of smoke and posted a whopper of a score of
532,700.
Erizisto's score awed on lookers for most of the week while the rest of the pack did their best to inch closer to his beast of a score.
It looked as if erizisto was going to run away with his 2nd overall victory of the season.
That was until
Red was awoken from his slumber.
Red is a serious specialist when it comes to a great many NES games. He quietly attacks from the shadows - bows - and disappears from whence he came.
His latest score is an incredible
733,800!
This score leads second place by over 200 thousand points and everyone else by at least 400,000.
I can honestly say I was speechlees when I saw the score.
Well done Red, but the battle isn't over yet. bertsampson has had his NES on pause
for over a day - waiting for a chance to continue his run (currently rumored to be over 500k).
Can bertsampson actually overtake Red? It would be an incredible feat.
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2016 SEASON LEADERS BREAKDOWN
Want to see what it takes to be the best? Check out the breakdown on where the Top 5 have finished so far
The 2016 Season is still young, but 5 participants have already begun to pull away from the rest of us a little bit. But what's there secret?
These NA contests are always a Marathon. Is there no hope?... Sure there is!
Take a look at the breakdown of the current Top 5 and see how they got there. You can get here too!
1st.
bertsampson [25pts.] Super Mario Bros. [4th] Tetris [4th] Kung Fu [3rd]
2nd.
skinnygrinny [21pts.] Super Mario Bros. [2nd] Tetris [39th] Kung Fu [4th]
3rd.
TWarwick07 [20pts.] Super Mario Bros. [6th] Tetris [16th] Kung Fu [1st]
4th.
Brock Landers [17pts.] Super Mario Bros. [5th] Tetris [13th] Kung Fu [5th]
5th.
erizisto [15pts.] Super Mario Bros. [1st] Tetris [8th] Kung Fu [DNF]
There is sure to be a shake up of the top five after this week's scoreboard is finalized.
Keep plugging away each week. Participation Points can keep an underdog alive and get someone into the playoffs to win it all!
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FINE ART BRINGS CULTURE INTO NA WEEKLY CONTESTS BATTLEFIELD
Each week hidden gems are posted during the contests. Have you seen them all yet?
Just like Francis Scott Key penned the American National Anthem during the War of 1812 while British Naval Forces bombarded Fort McHenry - Nintendoage also has
a competitor that can pen beauty in the heat of battle.
Contest veteran
Krunch has been entertaining both participants and spectators this year with his game art inspired name plate when making score submissions.
As the high scoring battles have raged on for nearly a month now, Krunch has taken time out from life and gaming to create artwork that puts a smile on the face of everyone who sees it.
His pieces so far include...
"
Plumber in Paradise" This classic piece depicts Mario at the begining of an untold journey across many perils. We see the (small) version of Mario gaze out into the distance as he ponders
the very meaning of life itself. So many obstacles lie in front of him - but in the distance... is his goal. The flag pole of legends, complete with fireworks!
This piece was the perfect portrait to start off the season. No doubt the emotions of the creator were put down on paper concerning the long trek ahead in this years Championship.
**This work can be found during both the Super Mario Bros. & Tetris Contests.
"
Alone... yet Detemined" This exquisite example of post-modern realism was created during Week 3.
Here we see the artist has changed his stance from one of wonder - to one of determination. Nicknamed "Krunch-Fu" by the less cultured among us, Krunch has re-created the character from Kung-Fu standing alone defiantly in the middle of the screen
ready to take on any that would dare stand in his way.
It's a wonderful example of the artist's mind calling out to all of us to clamp down for the long haul.
"
Choices" Krunch's last submitted pen on paper portrait was that of a young man hanging from a chain in the middle of two pieces of fruit - also hanging from a chain. The subject is making a choice between going back to grab the larger fruit, hanging safely where they are or perhaps moving forward to grab the smaller fruit.
You can really sense the trepidation coming from the character and the frustration from not being able to act on a single thought. Perhaps the artist wants to more forward - but cannot?
Is this a reflection of wanting to reach a higher score, but Real Life is coming to collect it's time demands? Facinating.
...In all seriousness, Krunch it's been mentioned several times already but I'll chime in too - your art is great fun and it's neat tosee what you are able to come up with each week.
No doubt it takes a bunch of time, but it makes it fun for the rest of us when you are able to make new ones. Thanks for that.
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BEST OF THE REST
One Contest Participant's improbable run of "almost got it" finishes this year
"Almost" ...Depending on your life outlook, this one word can be uplifting - or devastating.
For multiple contest award winner arnpoly almost has been the story of his 2016 season thus far.
As per the new rules instituted this year, only the top 8 finishers get scores over the participation threshold.
Just the top 8.
Unfortunately
arnpoly has been the "bubble guy" 2 out of the last three weeks, with a Week 1 "almost" as well.
He is fighting fiercely, but has not placed yet this year.
Take a look below on how he has fared up to Week 3.
Super Mario Bros. [12th]
520,450
Tetris [9th]
239,828
Kung Fu [9th]
485,760
arnpoly's scores are right in the thick of things to be sure, but he hasn't been able to shake "almost" this season up to this point.
Although we are competing against each other , I'm rooting for you to turn an "almost" into "I did it" good sir.
Best of luck going forward to an absolutely great player. (spoiler -he's going to do it by the end of the year)
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NINTENDOAGE NEEDS YOUR HELP!!!
Short PSA - Nintendoage service in danger of changing!!!
Nintendoage Chief Admin "Dain" made a public service announcement earlier this week that he is having trouble keeping the servers for Nintendoage running.
This site has swelled tremendously in numbers over the past few years and as such - the costs for keeping this site up and running are getting out of control.
Dain has mentioned a few ideas to fill the NA coffers again (adding ads to the site, a fundraising drive, etc).
Some donations have already been made, but the goal has not been reached yet.
If you would like more information on this developing story, or you would like to help keep Nintendoage running, please visit the link below for the full scoop.
http://nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=24&th...
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NEW PARTICIPANTS
Not all of these scores are by new participants, but will the powers that be please give these players their much deserved "player" icon?
Each week we will do our best to list the players that have submitted valid scores, but have not yet recieved the coveted "Link Icon" that displays to the community their involvement
in the NA Weekly Contests. Hopefully this makes it easier for the mods.
To be knighted with the Contest Badge...
bertsampson 324,800
mbd39 142,400
smick 129,800
Super Jimtendo 87,700
dirk12121212 57,400
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That'll do it for another edition of the Santa Weekly News Update.
We'll leave you with these questions until next time...
Will the power go out at bertsampson's house?
Can arnpoly finally break the top 10?
Will the lights stay on here at Nintendoage?
Tune in to find out!
