Played this one with the wife today after reading this review. Definitely a good time. Thanks, Martin!

@Dev Those are some great choices! I especially like the one of DK and Diddy staring down K. Rool. Truly impressive.

Being the massive Donkey Kong Country fan that I am, these totally just won me over.

https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAABRUKlRizadDQ
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAADOUKlQranwyA
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAAD4UKlQsDFiQQ

Thanks to those of you who shared Michael's art - I love it!

@Williaint @Bass_X0 Would love to at least see Excitebike 64 on the Virtual Console. I haven't played it in ages but I remember it being a blast.

Darn you, Morgan! Now I feel obligated to download and replay this masterpiece immediately. Highly effective writing, sir. Great job!

@cbkummer So incredibly jealous.

@zipmon Thank you, Morgan! It's a great time killer, no doubt about that.

@bezerker99 Thanks! I get what you mean, though the engine started grating on my nerves during longer play sessions.

@Five-seveN Congrats! Enjoy your early start to summer.

@Eisenbolan When you first start a file I think there are only four puzzles available and you'll unlock up to 20 total as your progress. As far as any other unlockables, I didn't notice any. There are some random educational facts and things to read in the options menu but it seemed to all be available off the bat.

Anyone else think the professor looks like Steven Karp's dad from Undeclared?

Great review, Phil. I'm about halfway through this one and I think everything you stated is spot on.

Only bummer of the entire Nintendo Direct was learning that North America would have to wait until next year to wrap up their Layton adventures. Most certainly one of my most anticipated games.

Attempting to comprehend the intense release schedule for the 3DS this year. So very, very excited.

All I want to be able to do is press the home button while gaming and be able to order a pizza with the simple tap of an icon. Isn't this what we all want? Better access to pizza delivery?! Games come second to pizza.

@SpaceApe Armored Edition is currently on sale at Best Buy for $19.99. Get on it!

High hopes for Blackgate. Hopefully we'll see some footage in the coming days.

The part where they said "StarTropics" was most certainly my favorite part.

Personally, I couldn't care less about third-party offerings (as far as ports go) as long as Nintendo pays the proper attention to existing franchises and delivers some exciting new IP. And if the 3DS is any indication of what we can expect from the Wii U in terms of software, I'm not worried at all.

I'm a musician and I still found the demo to pose a challenge. There must be something in the visual presentation that throws me off because I looked away from the screen during the boss level and performed flawlessly.

Anyway, this review has convinced me that this is a game I need to own and master. Good job, @Damo

@shinesprite No you needn't. Although I told myself I wouldn't play through DKCR until the 3DS version comes out. It's going to be a tough wait - that game's like comfort food for me.

Tomb Raider, Fire Emblem Awakening, Resistance: Fall of Man, Runner 2, and force myself to finish the frustrating Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion. I'd love to finally start Fez if I have the time but it doesn't look like that's gonna happen anytime soon.

Superb review, Damien! Once I burn through some of my ever-growing backlog, I intend to pick this one up. I enjoyed the demo far more than I thought I would.

I already own the game on PS3 but now I just may buy a copy on the Wii to support Provinciano. If you want to feel like you're playing an NES game for the first time in twenty some years, I recommend downloading this one ASAP. There are so many references/homages that 80's/90's kids should feel instantly transported to their youth. I had an absolute blast with this one and I hope it one day makes its way to the 3DS.

You can't go wrong with either Runner 2 or Retro City - both extremely fun games more than worthy of your time.

This game looks gorgeous. I can't wait.

The in-game footage shown on Up At Noon a few months back looked TERRIBLE. Be leery.

It makes me SO happy to see how many people care about Legends. Hopefully Ubisoft realizes just how immensely disappointing (and possibly devastating) this delay is.

Wow. I thought Rayman would be the Wii U's saving grace this quarter but apparently my system is going to be collecting even more dust. This, is the most bummerific news in a while.

So very excited for this one! Runner 2 and Rayman Legends alone should make for a GREAT February of gaming.

I finally purchased Sonic Generations for my 360 recently and I've been enjoying it very much. That said, I'm more excited for a new Sonic game than I have been in a long time. Hopefully Sega will build off of what they did right with Colors and Generations and then they'll have an absolute beast of a Sonic game!

Thanks for making me aware of this. It looks like it would make a great coffee table book and excellent addition to any retro gamers collection.

@mikeyman64 - Definitely do so. BAR has aged much, much better than Rush. Don't get me wrong, I'm actually a big fan of the Rush series (especially the stunt mode in 2049) but BAR is superior in nearly every way.

@Shworange - BAR never received the attention it deserved so I figured it would be nice to bring a little attention to it. Hopefully anyone that was curious about it in the past will finally hunt it down and give it a shot.

@DarkCoolEdge - I plan to review more retro titles in the near future. Maybe I'll rummage through the stock at the local shops for a copy of Shadow Man...(maybe )

Wii: Excitebots / Sin and Punishment / Zack and Wiki

360: Sonic Generations / Sonic Racing Transformed

Wow. My 3DS and Wii U really aren't getting any love right now.

@6ch6ris6 In due time. I imagine Nintendo is being strategic and saving their big announcements to coincide with the unveiling of the competitions next gen hardware. Oh, and E3 of course.

There are a few of these games that I am very interested in but right now the only ones I really care about are Rayman Legends and Runner 2.

I'm a platformaholic.

@Mikau94 Dang. You just reminded me that I've been neglecting Halo 4. Thanks for adding ANOTHER game to my list! Ha.

@Chrno-x I agree with your concerns about the glossy finish - specifically on the GamePad. I'm slightly OCD and a bit of a neat freak so I'm constantly having to wipe this thing down - you should see it after a night of gaming with multiple friends! Although the look of the finish doesn't necessarily bother me, I would have most definitely preferred a matte finish to thwart off fingerprints.

This is the most impressed I've been with Nintendo hardware since the launch of the N64. In the short two weeks I've owned my Wii U, it has already brought a great new level of connectivity to my living room. In fact, I've barely been on my laptop as I mostly use the system's impressive web browser for habitual browsing and I'm finding that sharing the internet with other people is a surprisingly satisfying experience.

With all that said, I'm a little worried about the software lineup during the next year. I already own a 360 and a PS3 so I personally have little interest in multiplatform releases. I'm here for those genre defining experiences that only Nintendo knows how to deliver and as of right now, there have yet to be any truly jaw-dropping announcements. But I know I shouldn't worry - they'll come soon enough

So cool! Watched the video on my Wii U GamePad while my wife watches the Thanksgiving parade on the TV. Loving this thing.

Even though MKWii and MK7 are very good games, I hope Nintendo changes things up significantly for the next installment. The series is ready for a shakeup!

Oh, and I agree with the people who think injecting the Nintendo universe into a kart racer could be incredible. If done right, of course.

First time visiting NL from the Wii U browser

@darkninja9 I've been downloading update for 30 minutes and I'm only halfway.

Ron - that's totally me in the white hoodie in that pic from Best Buy.... small world.

Just picked up my Wii U and NSMBU. The Best Buy I went to had about 50-something units for sale. So much for that GameStop waiting list.

I love that there is still a market for 8 and 16 bit games. I will absolutely be purchasing this upon release.

Good review, Corbs! I'm definitely picking this up soon. Haven't played it in ages.

Very good list. Loved finding DKCR ranked so high. Would've been nice to see Rayman Origins somewhere on here though...

@Ducutzu - You're very welcome.

Thank you, @TheFlyingSquid ! My legendary last name is pronounced Let-cav-edge. It's really not as tricky to pronounce as it seems.

@DiscordedTeeJay - Thank you, friend. I understand that the number score may not be ideal for everyone but I felt that I was very fair when writing this review.