The Pokémon titles that started it all are coming to the 3DS Virtual Console soon, and fans are understandably excited about the prospect. That excitement may be tempered somewhat by fresh reports relating to how the games use - or, in this case, don't use - the unique features of the Virtual Console platform.
Our friends over at Serebii have been digging around the Japanese manual for the releases and have discovered that the games will not support restore points. In case you didn't know, this feature has been present in every single Game Boy game on the Virtual Console, and allows you to pause and save your progress at any point. Because this has been disabled, you'll only be able to save in these retro Pokémon offerings by using the game's native save system.
It is also being reported that the save backup option has also been disabled, presumably in an attempt to prevent players from duplicating Pokémon and messing around with save files. Finally, players won't be able to access the Virtual Console menu or 3DS Home menu when using the Battle or Trade features of the game - again, this sounds like an attempt to prevent exploits being used.
Seeing as the 3DS has no physical means of replicating the cable-based connectivity of the original games, a new menu system has been included. When you access the Cable Club, a menu will appear on the touch screen which allows you to connect to a partner wirelessly or search for another player who is sending out the signal.
Retro-fitting these esteemed classics for the 3DS has clearly been quite an undertaking for Nintendo, but some of the changes outlined above might not sit well with seasoned fans. Let us know what you think by posting a comment below.
[source serebii.net]
Comments 110
Well then, at least it'll retain a more natural feel in that case. The original's don't have restore points so it's not as if they are taking away things that were originally included. shrugs In the end, that's fine with me.
I wished all GB VC games had done something similar with wireless, but this is nice to see.
What's this about hackers? Clearly the intent is to keep you from duplicating Pokémon by trading them away and then reloading an old restore point or backup.
@Zyrac Good point, will update the post.
Well, you can save anywhere vut mid-battle, so it doesn't really matter.
I have a feeling in my waters this wireless replacement to the link cable could spell N64 VC Pokemon Stadium support.
OK so what is the excuse for not selling the ambassador games now.People will buy these.
@andrew20 The Ambassador games were terribly done. They had sound and graphical glitches up the wazoo and they couldn't go into sleep mode when you closed the 3DS. That's why.
@InternetBowser Local only.
Makes sense to me.
Pokemon games let you save anywhere anyway.
make sense for restore point to be disable for the main pokemon VC game!
Saving is no problem anyway so no big deal is it!
@Serebii @andrew20 That, and Nintendo explicitly said repeatedly that those GBA games would never be available for purchase by the general public on 3DS since it was an exclusive incentive to Ambassadors. If they attempted to go back on that, they would blatantly tick off millions of early adaptors.
@andrew20 The ambassador games were completely terrible. All of the games have a motion blur filter which is on the list of some of the worst retro games filters, terrible sound and graphical issues, the controls are limited, a the ghosting is bad. I don't see how anybody want anymore of them.
@InternetBowser Just local.
No backup save feature? What a surprise. At least it's a more natural fit with Pokémon than it was with Mario Kart Wii and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
im fine with that. the normal save function of those pokemon games works okay.
but i really appreciate the backups in other virtual console games!
@ericthecheese all ambassador games can be bought now.lol guess you didn't know that.lol there on the eshop.
@Dakt You could save anywhere, but you could never save during a battle. I don't mind this at all actually. I've found that restore points kinda ruin the game anyway. Back when I was playing EarthBound on VC, I made sure to save the game the good old fashioned way and begin playing from the title screen. It really added to the experience.
@Zyrac couldn't you already duplicate pokemon in the original by powering off mid trade?
@khaosklub I guess, but you risk losing your save data pulling tricks like that. Either way, it only makes sense that Nintendo don't want to provide an easy way of cheating. Especially when they're putting all this effort into making trades work at all. (I mean, if it were anywhere near easy, they'd be doing this for other VC games.)
@Slim1999
None of the 3DS Ambassador games are available for purchase on the 3DS
@Serebii They didn't have sound and graphical glitches. I have them all. They didn't go into sleep mode and looked a little dim but they're fine. The reason they haven't been released is because they were exclusive to ambassadors. That's it. The end. I'm glad they did it. I enjoy the tears of whiners.
Meh....I kinda expected this to happen. My guess is that they still want it to feel like playing a Pokemon game for some reason.
@Slim1999 Not on 3DS.
@electrolite77 All 10 NES games from the Ambassador program are on the 3DS, but not the 10 GBA games.
I still wonder if they fixed several of the more famous bugs and unused/placeholder data places, like Missingno, extended Ditto trick, RAM corruptions?
@booker_steve I really, really, really hope this is the case, though I'd rather have Pokemon Stadium 2 than 1… but then again, seeing as I have Pokemon Battle Revolution on Wii, I'd rather just play that instead considering the greater roster of Pokemon to choose from.
I'd quite like a fresh Pokemon Stadium style game on Wii U. We've gone two generations now without any kind of "Stadium"-style experience. Yes, the games are rendered in full 3D, rendering Stadium games partially redundant, but I would appreciate the ability to enjoy Pokemon battles on the big screen (in HD!!!).
Just swapped out my 20 year old battery pack in my Pikachu edition cartridge. Ready for another 20 years of saves
I'm not surprised.
It's totally understandable. I only hope the glitches, some of them at least, will not be fixed.
Dern.
I always disable Restore Points on the Gameboy DS games, so this is no big lose. I always see them as cheating.
@Serebii actually Metroid fusion did, but it seemed to only work with the game paused to the map.
That's fine, considering you can save anywhere except for in battle. They're keeping the feel of a Pokémon game intact by doing this.
I still cannot justify the $10 price tag on these...
this doesn't bug me. I will be getting these games for the nostalgia. These are by far my favorite Pokemon games. Although I really wish they would release a new Pokemon Ranger game. I love those games
Makes sense. Keeps cheating out of the equation.
Also dose anyone want pokemon gold,silver and Crystal on virtual console on 3ds.
@bngrybt: My thoughts exactly. My Ambassador games look and sound just fine; never had any problems like these guys had. But like you said, they're just a little dim on lower light settings. That, and the few that did have Sleep Mode natively (namely Yoshi's Isand, Minish Cap, and Metroid Fusion; don't remember if more do) still support it - you just have to select the option to do so.
Makes perfect sense with these games and Nintendo's concern to keep them as cheat-free as possible. Perfectly acceptable.
[sub]Let's not swear
~Santa [/sub]
I mean of all games that had to have this these are the most logical. I mean you can save anywhere on the overworld.
@Chaoz Says the ambassador.
These things seem reasonable to me. Not having restore points is fine in a game with built-in saving, and stopping exploits from breaking the game is always nice.
I do kinda hope that they don't patch out some of the glitches though (Level 100 Nidoking, Mew and completing Yellow in 0:00 spring to mind)
@Handy_Man
Whoops. You're right, of course. Apologies.
@Serebii What you mean by glitchy? I've played the majority of not all the Ambassador games and I never noticed and glitches.
Who didn't see this coming, really?
Though I was hoping you'd be able to at least trade between different versions of the game on the same console (especially after seeing the N3DS console with both Red and Blue preloaded).
I think it's great that these are coming out and it sounds like they're not straight ports of the originals so good work Nintendo on making this happen.
I'm doubtful I'll pick these up though. The only way I would pick these up to play again is if my family members got them too.
@andrew20 I would and seeing how others are able to work in a real time clock into the game I am sure Nintendo can have a real time clock for the game as well.
All these restrictions are good! I still don't know which version to get!
@andrew20
[raises hands]
My ambassador games have been fine too really. I feel pretty well rewarded.
Such an amazing gesture really. That after all this time these games are still held exclusive to ambassadors.
@andrew20 I would buy all the GBA & DS Pokemon on Virtual Console with these features. Maybe if these do well, it will convince them to bring over the other games.
@Joenen Sadly Nintendo didn't offer that to Wii U owners who bought their failure system at launch nor have they released the GBA VC titles on the 3DS for everyone else to buy but at an extra cost.
@TeeJay And that means what? Just because I was dumb enough to buy the 3DS at launch doesn't mean I actually care for those terrible ports, even when I used to be a Nintendo fanboy. What is there to like about ports that are outclassed by crappy phone emulators?
@ikki5
No. But we got Super Metroid for 30c and Wii Fit U for free! Lol
@Serebii I dont know what you are talking about i finished Minish Cap and Metroid Fusion on the original Blue 3DS and there were no graphical and Sound glitches. Seems to be a NA exclusive problem.
@Slim1999 Not on the 3DS they aren't, which is what i said in my post.
Told ya!
i only save at pokemon centers playing these versions anyway, so yeah no issues there.
@Joenen
It's a nice gesture indeed. Too bad that at the time 1) our NintendoID accounts, contrary to - say - an Xbox account, don't mean anything when it comes to actually owning the games we purchased or received, 2) it's very much not "too soon" to release GBA games on 3DS anymore, and 3) if point 2 was still a concern, they could simply release the ambassador games for last.
Seriously, any time I type or pronounce the sentence "GBA games are currently a home console exclusive", I feel like a kitten is dying somewhere in the world.
NO rest....!?? ...can't even finish the sentence. The utter outrage chokes my blood supply
@Michael_JF It's most evident when you play Yoshi's Island, especially on scrolling levels. Native resolution it's fine (except sound) but standard...
I don't care. I'm playing it anyways and having fun as if it was the 90s.
@Serebii Unlike all other Virtual Console games, the GBA Ambassador games aren't running on specially coded emulators. They are straight ROM dumps running off of the 3DS's secondary CPU (essentially the "Nintendo DS Chip" that allows the 3DS to play DS games, but which also handles the 3DS's background processes). This CPU, like with the DS before it, can be down-clocked to run GBA games.
This is why there's no sleep mode or restore points or anything of the like. This is also why the 3DS home menu can't be reached and no standard wireless or background processes can be realized. The CPU can't do anything while simulating GBA games aside from.. well, simulating GBA games. This is also why Nintendo hasn't re-released them as is to the general public - they aren't technically up-to-snuff with Nintendo's Virtual Console emulation standards. They were, however, quick and easy to produce (again, they're simulated software, not emulated software), making them perfect exclusive giveaways to early adopters.
Also, since these are GBA ROM dumps running off of down-clocked Nintendo DS hardware, they are EXACTLY the same as when playing the same games via cartridge on the DS. Any perceived glitches, sound issues, or ghosting? You're mistaken - they were always there, they were just less noticeable on the antiquated hardware.
Kinda sucks with no save backup, but it ain't that bad. Still ready for these games to hit the eshop.
I don't quite remember if they said anything about it, but will the Cable Club just be local wireless, or online wireless too?
Makes perfect sense why they did it. No complaints from me. I don't think in a game I'm so well versed in I would need a save state anyway. I don't even crave one in a newer Pokemon.
@Serebii I have played my Ambassador copy of Yoshi's Island within the past couple of weeks and I never noticed any kind of glitch or sound error on any of the levels. I'll pay more attention next time I play but I haven't noticed any of there are...
@whitespy12 The sleep mode still works on my Ambassador copy though.
Yeah, this makes a lot of sense. Trading issues, pokeball capture rate abuse, battle exploits, and probably a ton of stuff I am not thinking of could be introduced by save states.
As for GBA on 3DS, it is almost a moot point now. We are quickly approaching the era of the NX which if rumors are to be believed is a single, multi-use (home/portable) console.
@Michael_JF In a sense, yes, but not in the same way that a 3DS game generally goes into sleep mode. All DS and 3DS games go into immediate standby mode when the shell is closed. GBA Ambassador games do NOT go into standby mode. The sound and screen will shut off, but the game continues processing (progress is not 'frozen' as it would be otherwise). Certain GBA games do include a software based sleep mode however, but again, the 3DS hardware based sleep mode remains unsupported.
I can see why they did these, though it also seems a little unnecessary since there's no way any cloned pokemon from these games could ever make it to the modern games.
@whitespy12 Thanks for the info, didn't know this about the ambassador games.
Nice to see a comment once in a while from people who knows what they're talking about. Too much kiddies on here spreading rumours and convictions as truths!
Wow it's funny to see that everyone is talkig about GBA ambassador games haven't seen people talk about them in a while! Anyway I've got them all on my new 3ds xl and they all play fine and I enjoy all of them! Fire emblem is a joy to have as I loved it on the GBA! I never really notice any glitches either but hey I haven't really played any if the original but they're lovely to have and you feel special for having them! Anyway I forgot the GB virtual console did this so no loss for me really, it'll be like playing any other Pokémon game! Still very hyped for that yellow 2DS!
@whitespy12 Oh ok. Yes it doesn't go into sleep mode when you close the system, but the original sleep mode within the game that was present on the original GBA cartridge (which I do have) is still perfectly functional.
@Chaoz Strange, I never noticed anything like that... Not even in Metroid Fusion or F-Zero Maximum Velocity.
I don't know if it was worth the time or effort to prevent save backups, because your creatures are only accessible in these retro versions, so who cares? First gen isn't really competitive anyways, and they can't be transferred to the newer titles. Purity doesn't matter in this case.
Although it doesn't make much difference to not be able to quicksave/sleep mode at any time, since you can save anywhere outside of battles and text speech, it's still kind of silly to remove a feature that is commonplace throughout the portable gaming sphere now. There's not really any good reason to get rid of it. It's not like you're implementing save states by leaving the feature in. What if you couldn't do this in the myriad of portable titles that also let you save anywhere outside of battles and speech? Would we still say the same thing? Would we declare that the ability to quicksave/sleep mode doesn't matter anymore, and allow it to be removed from any other title? Or would we become hypocrites, and suddenly say it's good for everything else, but doesn't matter here for Pokemon?
Hardly a big deal. You can already save at any time in these games outside of battles and conversations.
@whitespy12 Yep. That's what I've been saying around the net for the last few years That said, there's definite graphical glitches that occur when the games are upscaled.
"Quite an undertaking" - I find that incredible, surely it couldn't be too difficult?
Backups are useless anyway. If your 3DS is stolen or breaks, you won't be able to recover anything, even if you copy everything to a PC. It is tied to an unique console number which you can't just edit.
Nintendo should seriously rething their save data and account system policy.
Thank goodness! I would have to try battling someone who keeps resetting our battles by using save points.
Thank goodness! I would hate to try battling someone who keeps resetting our battles by using save points.
@bro2dragons
Exactly what I was thinking, lol.
I wonder if any of the glitches will still be in. I don't know if they'd patch any of them out, but due to how some of the glitches worked on the original cartridge, they might not work right on the emulator.
Do you have any information about space in bagback?
If all are like in originals i won't see a reason to buy it.
Unless Gold/Silver/Crystal
So no Streetpass support while the games are open? What? 😟
Fingers crossed that the Missingno and Mew glitches aren't fixed
Restore points are a disaster waiting to happen with a game like this. I created one for Earthbound before I really understood the restore point system and I was paranoid the rest of my playtime that I would accidentally restore and lose hours of progress. I'd periodically make a new restore point just in case, but I would have been happier had Nintendo allowed restore points to be deleted once created.
@Serebii on the subject of sleep mode, the games that come with the option actually enter sleep mode when you close the system. It's kinda neat, too bad only a few gba games use it.
@VR32F1END
Pretty sure it was only free provided you paid $20 for the Wii Fit U meter.
@Chaoz lol. I jumped too early with 3DS aswell but I got Excitebike, LoZ Four Swords and the Ambassador games for free. I will never forget how amazing it was playing Pilotwings Resort in 3D, I still have my launch 3DS and still play with 3D in all the time.
Anyways, despite all the nice fancy extras emulated games are all but uncontrollable on touch screen phones unless you use a Bluetooth controller, which is awkward! At least the 3DS plays the Ambassador games with ease despite the limited options.
As for Wii U, the price has hardly budged since launch. It's an spectacular system with a multitude of top rated exclusive AAA games. I don't understand what your problem could be? If you're after big 3rd party releases it was always obvious, at least to me that the Wii U was never going to get them from the start.
@Serebii @Serebii I smell bullpoopoo lol.
@booker_steve I'd be down for Pokemon Stadium on the Wii U VC if there was wireless support with the Virtual Console Pokemon games. There would have to be a lot of revamping in Stadium in the absence of a physical cartridge and the N64 Transfer Pak, I imagine, but I'd buy it if Nintendo found a way to make it work.
All sounds perfect to me. I want to play the game as close to as it was in terms of functionality and focus on that rather than hearing about cheats created by the environment.
@Waninoko I really hope they didn't; it would take away a lot of fun if they did.
This may be a stretch... I know the 3ds family support an infared port, does this mean I'll be able to connect with my old GBC and trade my old pokemon to the VC ones once they release? It would be awesome my old pokemon cart's battery is way past it's lifespan... it was a gift from my late grandmother and it would just be awesome to be able to preserve some of them from when I was little maybe I'm only dreaming but it would be an awesome feature
If they do patch out the Mew glitch, I hope they can distribute Mew in some sort of way... (Or hide Mew under that truck! XD)
I want to keep my level 255 Wartortles though...
@Mezurashii
Japan is getting Mew distributed
I dont care about save points... What I want is a FAST FORWARD button... like in pokemon stadium
@Chaoz I would love to have them. The motion blur and the dimming is intentional, if Nintendo wanted to release GBA games on the 3DS they wouldn't necessarily have these settings on.
Nintendo typically uses those effects in most VC games but they're used as memory hacks, for example the Earthbound VC has motion blur but it is only active when certain flashing events occur, like PK Starstorm. This would be the same for GBA games but they rushed to release and simply made every game use those high settings. 3DS SMB3 is one of the best examples, it has a plethora of changes and they all happen on-the-fly by the emu, ranging from grammar fixes to flashing reduction to NES hardware bugs, it also has the same screen dimming setting as GBA, but is variable depending on what part of the game you're in. It's all in the config.ini and the .patch file.
This is just a theory but it may just be Nintendo doesn't release GBA games on 3DS because they can't track game events to set effects, fix bugs, censor, etc. simply because of the way they are working.
>Trade all the mons
> Load restore point
>Trade all the mons
>Lode restore point
Yeah, good riddance
wow. that is REALLY stupid.
@ikki5
Needed the balance board too. I was kinda giving some sarcasm on that post. Lol
Anyone know how these releases will stack with Pokemon Bank? This might've been answered in the deluge of replies but I don't have the time to go through them all at this moment...
Sounds like a good plan - since you could save pretty much anytime in a pokemon game anyways, I think you don't lose anything from not having save states, and I can see how the features they removed would be a problem with glitching/trading. I just wish I knew people to trade with...can't "catch 'em all" by myself.
Personally, I have an ambassador system, and I would be perfectly happy to have the GBA games released to the general public (because it would probably mean that more games I want would be released too). I know they said the games were exclusive - but I still got the games for FREE, years before everyone else, that's more than enough for me. If other people could buy those games now - it literally does not hurt me at all. Also, I don't care that there are no additional features beyond what was available on the GBA - by the GBA era save systems were pretty decent. I wish Ninty would be willing to compromise a bit on "quality" in these cases - I'd much rather have GBA games (even without all the bells and whistles) on the 3DS than the WiiU.
@mjc0961 Useless to you = useless to everybody else. Got it!
@Token_Girl I agree with the thing about GBA games on the 3DS. Home consolesshould be emulated by home consoles, it's only logical. (And vice versa ofc)
Restore points are for people who can't play video games.
They should be removed from all VC titles.
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