@SparkofSpirit
"Doing anything in this game without the charge shot is tedious. It slows the pace down tremendously."
Actually, playing the game without the charge shot speeds the game up tremendously. Most of the enemies in the game don't require more than one or two shots. This game can very much be played like the previous ones in that regard. It also means you don't have to keep stopping to charge up your Mega Buster before you get to the next enemy. You can just run, jump and shoot your way through every level. It also prevents you from hearing that terrible pulsating charge sound (which covers up the excellent music).

There are instances where the charge shot is useful, such as with boss battles and mini-bosses, but be assured that the regular shot is a far more elegant and enjoyable way to play through the game. At least, that's my feeling anyway. I feel very strongly about it too because I USED to play this game by charging up every few seconds. It got boring and tedious rather quickly (especially when you miss a shot this way -you end up having to wait to charge again before you make another shot- just terrible).

I am so pumped for Off-TV play. It is going to crank my addiction up to 11!

Ironic that the man behind the Mega Man series is complaining about stagnation.

"They live for the smell of a freshly opened instruction manual, or seeing the game boxes stacked on a shelf."
I am an old school gamer. I would rather spend the effort to get some of the older classics stacked in boxes with instruction manuals on my shelf. Disc based games post PS1 just don't seem to have all that much "personality". Nowadays, they are either removing the manual altogether or it's a paltry little black and white pamphlet.

"But do these people still buy CDs or simply get their music on iTunes[?]"
This is one of the things that started me down my road to all digital. I don't see the point in CDs for music, haven't for years. Why should I care about discs for games? If it ain't a cartridge, I don't find it to be collectable.

I bought a 32 SD card and a 2T HDD for my 3DS and WiiU respectively, and I'm LOVIN' EVERY MINUTE OF IT!

Vehemont said it best. It really shouldn't impact you or your day one iota what someone else thinks; especially what some guy across the continent/world. Enjoy his games if you please, but please don't turn this matter into a flame war.

If Capcom keeps developing HD project of retro favourites, I wonder what the odds will be that they will want to outsource HD remakes of games in the Mega Man franchise. Would anyone want that? I know the remake of Mega Man 1 didn't do all that well on PSP.

I don't think Star Fox needs any more attention. The cast of characters and the mythos of the world is uninteresting to say the least. Miyamoto and company just threw this together as window dressing for gameplay. It was fun to see the anthropomorphic creatures back in 93 but ultimately, they're nothing special.

@sweetiepiejonus:
"The IGN review, if you can even call it that, isn't even worth addressing. That some people are even being swayed by that clown is kind of sad actually."

I couldn't agree more. I have been struggling with the idea of Colin Moriarty and Greg Miller as dependable journalists for the past 6 months. I used to really enjoy their podcast BEYOND on IGN for it's energy and exuberance, but recently it has just been a bit of a slog to get through. Greg's ZombiU review wasn't necessarily unfair, but I feel it lacked any kind of vision or insight; Colin's Mirror of Fate review just cemented the notion that he has strong biases attached to almost everything he addresses, and that many of these biases just make him a bit intolerable to me.

I really enjoyed this game and I thank Damien for his carefully considered review. The text may not have led me to conclude that the game deserves an 8 (I would say it tops out around a 7), but as has been recently pointed out in a feature by Nintendolife: scores are a little archaic and indefensible at times. I enjoyed the game very much over all. In actuality, I like it better than the console LoS.

I prefer Mega Turrican to Super, so this is no big loss IMO.

At least give us an eshop release. That would be wonderful!

I was very concerned when I heard off TV play would not be available. Capcom assured us that the reason was because the touch screen was so useful to the game, that it would be detrimental to the game to play without it. Then I download the demo and find that there is absolutely nothing of value on that touch screen. Even the map of the area was still displayed on my HUD. I was very upset to see this was utter BS on Capcom's part. Off TV play is very important to me, especially if I want to play this game for more than a few minutes at a time. I'm glad to hear Capcom will be giving us this feature.

I agree with Sakurai-san, 100%!

"You could argue that Jon was stupid for returning his Wii U when Nintendo has made it clear that system transfers can only be done by them...". Yes, I can argue that Jon is stupid, and I will: Jon is stupid. Either that, or he's lying, and this was a way to try to get all of his games a second time on a new console.

My experience with Nintendo has been fantastic. When my old Wii's disc drive stopped working (I voided the warranty by trying to fix it) Nintendo told me they would transfer my VC licenses onto a new system if I so wished. I bought a new Wii, sent in the broken one and they shipped them both back to me with all my VC games ON BOTH CONSOLES! I now have two Wii's with huge VC libraries on them.

Yeah, NintendoNaut basically just backed me up on the Laser Cannon boss. Freaky timing, that.

@rayword45: I'm fine with the fact that you disagree on the score, I really am. However, since when has game length a) been anything but subjective and b) had anything to do with the quality of the game as it is, on it's own terms? Length is simply context for comparison. The whole confusion of trial and error gameplay with poor game design is also troubling. Trial and error gameplay is not only typical for this era, it's typical for the genre. Platformers require quick reflexes, memorization and repetition. There are no exceptions to these tropes. Mega Man 2 also requires you to play through a level in order to learn it's "tricks". That is part of the fun of discovery, as is the feeling of accomplishment that comes from triumphing over these obstacles. Such game design choices are also found in contemporary games, if they so choose, re: Dark Souls. I find your criticisms of "length" and "trial and error" to be made entirely irrelevant by your next statement: "I realize the first 2 are part of the style of Mega Man in general...".

Finally, I think we get to the heart of the matter. You don't care for this particular style of game: "[I] don't think guess-and-check gameplay should be rewarded.". That's honest, and you're certainly welcome to that opinion, but it doesn't make the game bad, or flawed. I for one love Dark Souls, Donkey Kong Country Returns and Super Meat Boy. I love "guess-and-check gameplay" because I love the challenge.

Now, having said that, Mega Man 2 is not perfect. It is extremely close, but I feel the Laser Cannon boss in stage 4 of Dr. Wily's Castle to be unfair and downright frustrating. The fact that you can only defeat it with the Crash Bombs (a weapon with barely any ammo stock) is very limiting in terms of strategy. What's more, you need to re-traverse most of the level once you die. The music in that level is also pretty terrible. The only track in the entire game I dislike.

I don't begrudge the 10/10; I personally think it's a 9.5, but I'm fine with rounding up.

@Sun "they are focusing on NES games which most people do not care about."

What are you talking about? Even my parents care about certain NES games. The NES has a far wider appeal than almost any other Nintendo console. Back in the day, parents (including my own) would try out, even play many NES games for extended periods. There is a huge nostalgia factor attached to these games. There is a large collector community actively collecting NES games and even the old people in my family who haven't touched a video game in years can recall playing Super Mario Bros. or the Legend of Zelda back in the 80's.

Now, YOU might not care about NES games, but I find it preposterous that you would make such a broad generalization. I for one, love the system. It's my favourite of all time. Could you tell ?

I am super surprised to hear this, but also super happy. Day 1 buy for me.

I will only be purchasing this if it is made available for digital download. So here's hoping!

Xenoblade Chronicles for me.

I don't have a controller for my PC. What's this business about sync'ing your WiiRemotes to your PC?

@edcomics
You should really play ZombiU before you outright decide it isn't for you. When the demo is released I encourage you to give it a go. I could care less about zombie's personally, and they've even deterred me from being enthusiastic about this very game, but I saw what the dev team was going for in terms of play mechanics and I couldn't resist. ZombiU is the first "zombie" game I have ever owned, but I love it to pieces. Truly an engaging, tense and thoroughly thrilling experience. It is also (currently) unique- it has provided me with gameplay that I have never before experienced. For that reason alone, it ought to be at least demo'd.

People here need to calm it down. This isn't your toy. This is for people who are Johnny-come-lately's to the Wii table and want to pick up and play the catalogue on the cheap. This is for that last Senior's Home that doesn't have one of their own for Wii--bowling night. This isn't for you, and it certainly isn't for people who want a "cheap" Netflixs provider. People can already get Netflix through a number of other methods, and the regular Wii with online is down to just over $100 at the time of this posting. This just gives buyers gradients to work with.

Honestly, how many of you actually regularly use your Wii for online gaming? I thought so. How many of you are going to continue playing online once the new Mario Kart comes out for WiiU? Even less I see. So the online user space for the Wii is already small and will continue to shrink in the coming year. There's nothing for people to do online with Wii anyway.

Now, onto the actual news at hand: it is super cute, and it will likely become a collector's item in the future, a la the NES toploader and the SNES 2. It is also a Canadian exclusive, which, if it keeps its exclusivity will make it CRAZY collectible.

@AlexSays I rate the game between a 7 and an 8. I do so because I enjoy it. I enjoy it more than Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, Super Mario U and Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. All of which I have stopped playing to play more of this game. I'm not measuring it as a launch game, I'm measuring it against games I am currently playing. I don't see how much more authentic a measuring stick you can get. I hope that you play it yourself and avoid the rhetoric about "launch games".

@Kirk Yes, but you must remember that no other "core" system has as ambitious a digital service as Nintendo is proposing. The PS3, nor the 360 aim to make every retail release also available for download. If that was the case, you would also need to go out and purchase additional memory/HDD stuff, which would take up space and look ugly. A 32 gig Deluxe WiiU should be fine as long as you're buying retail copies. You don't have to worry, in that case, about external "anything". The extra plug to have your Game Pad constantly charging shouldn't be any more of an inconvenience than your 3DS charging cradle, or Ipad, or your phone dock, or your laptop, or your router, or your curling iron...

@koops330
While extremely unlikely, there's nothing to say that XSEED can't bring Pandora's Tower to N.A.

The problem is the install base. Sure, the Vita can do most of the same things, but very few people a) have a Vita and b) no one is going to make games that use a Vita/PS3 interface in any unique or interesting way because there are simply too few consumers who possess the ability to play a game like that. Nintendo has a similar problem in the Gamecube days with the Gameboy Advance interface. Only a handful of games were made (maybe a "handful" is being too generous) to take advantage of the GBA system cable and that was it. The WiiU on the other hand will have this controller packed in from day 1, meaning all developers can design games around the two screens.

This is just rhetoric right now. They're posturing. The real question is, will people actually care about this two screen idea a few years from now? The point will be moot if the idea flops.

The seller's name is Frank Cifaldi. He has been on Retronauts many times. Colleague of Jeremy Parish of 1up.com and certainly a very respected gaming historian. He's the legit deal. I certainly think he should turn it into bidding auction instead of a BUT IT NOW, but I don't doubt Frank's reputation.

Proves just how much the 2600 sucks. Long live Nintendo.

We rented the original Metroid when we first got our NES. Thing is, we were used to the mechanics of Super Mario and had no idea what we had to do in this "new" game to progress. It took us a while to even get through the first door!

@pixelman

That thread is gigantic! I'll just give my info here:

"Nate"
GBRYFB

@Shmavey

The + armour can only be built from + monsters. You won't encounter them until you get to HR 30.

@ pixelman

I'm HR 41 but I'm interested in farming Rath+ too, I'll send you a friend request later tonight or tomorrow sometime.

@LinktotheFuture
The SNES never got Rondo of Blood. They got a chopped up port of it called Dracula X and, while I enjoyed it quite a bit, it is simply not anywhere near as good as RoB. There are balance issues with the difficulty (especially with Dracula) and the game just isn't as big or as beautiful.

Forget Kid Icarus. I really want to see a new Startropics!

@Rerun
Yeah, but at the same time, is it possible that PC games get rushed out of the gate more often due to this ability to just "patch it?"

I know, I know, console games are never perfectly tested, but I wouldn't laud this aspect of "yeah, the PC games are broken, but we give you tons of patches to fix them" argument over, I don't know, how about: just test all games better!

@PhoenixRising
" It's pretty damned obvious that no-one will buy your games if the media is consistently faulty..."

Ha ha. Then why do people keep buying Xbox 360's?

I find it interesting that there are a lot of comments about how there's this "Nintendo effect" that prevents high 3rd party sales. Guys, the NES and SNES gave us some of the best (and highest selling) first party titles ever made, and that didn't stop the flow of tons of great 3rd party games that were so successful, some of them even became franchises. All of this was due to a popular, high selling piece of hardware that was in practically every home -ring a bell? Yes, the NES also had gimicky doo-dads like the Zapper, the Fun Pad or the Power Glove, but in the end, we got Castlevania, Mega Man, Ninja Gaiden, Final Fantasy and so on and so forth. Did these 3rd party titles make as much as Nintendo did off of Mario and Zelda? No, but they made some good cash because their games didn't suck.

You know who lost money? All those companies who made crap for the NES and SNES, caught a few suckers off guard (no internet to warn them) and the went bankrupt when they realized that Bebe's Kids just wasn't going to keep them afloat.

Granted, the NES also had very little competition over here in the Americas, but the SNES certainly saw its share of competition from good ol' Sega and even (depending on where you were in the continent) Turbo Grafix16. Despite that, Nintendo didn't lose the faith of its 3rd party supporters until the N64 and I think, that's where the problem really comes from. They've never recovered from that -not entirely.

Tony's comment (#50) had a good point. Third party games may not be up to par these days. Everything is so bland and "samey" and when they're unique (Zack & Wiki), they get no advertising (and let's be honest, even with a good ad campaign, its tough to REALLY sell a point-and-click game these days).

Here here. I agree. This is what I have my eye on in terms of an inevitable upgrade to a DSi unit at some point in the future. The larger screens will be a nice alternative to the DSlite and the fact that it feels more comfortable in your hands is also certainly appealing.

Good game. So pleased it finally came out on VC. Saved me a ton of money buying it on ebay. Personally this is my favourite of the series.

How do I access the "Classic" vs "Normal" control mode? I see no option for it in the Options menu. Do I have to beat the game first to get the choice?

What's with all of this talk about fairies? Adam, you do realise that either a star or an Angel is typically placed at the top of the tree, right? So really, none of the characters on that tree should be trying to be most like a fairy to get to the top of that arbor.

Now, is Tyson like an Angel? Well unless Angles switch their favourite food to earlobes, I'm going to go out on a limb and say he's not one of those either.

@y2josh

Why would we want to see them play Circle of the Moon either? Actually I prefer Judgement to Harmony of Dissonance and Circle of the Moon. I find both of those games to be unplayable. At least I can burn off some anger by playing Judgement. It's certainly not an amazing game, but if you find it for $20, pick it up.

What I want to know is why they don't have Rondo of Blood or Bloodlines on that list. I mean, I'm a huge fan of Simon's Quest, but I'm pretty sure it would be more interesting for people to watch those two games being played than Castlevania II.

@JamieO - comment 21

I was actually going to ask you what you consider the "flat side-scrolling" beat-em-ups to be covered under. Those games without "depth", or the ability to move up and down from the foreground to the background. A good example I just came across was X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse for the SNES, which all things considered is only mediocre (despite my die-hard adoration of all things X-Men). My favourite game of this style has to be Strider 2 for the PSX which is, in my opinion a super under appreciated "depthless" beat-em-up. Hagane and Shatterhand are other favourites in this sub-genre.

And yes, I think the Top 10 for a site like this might need to be narrowed down to only console games in the genre. It could all get out of hand pretty fast once you realize that the Turtles Arcade, Simpsons Arcade and X-Men Arcade (6 player version, 'natch) would take up most of the list. That's not necessarily a bad thing, except for the fact that this is a console-centric site

Some of my favourites are: Maximum Carnage, Double Dragon II and IV, King of Dragons, Final Fight, Knights of the Round, Turtles in Time, TMNT II: The Arcade Game, Battletoads & Double Dragon (despite how frickin' hard it is), Batman Returns, Captain American & the Avengers (I know its bad, but I love Iron Man), and River City Ransom. Captain Commando is pretty good too but I put it in the same category as Golden Axe and Streets of Rage, which is the "okay, but not great" category.

@JamieO

I didn't realize that the PS2 Capcom collection had the arcade version of KoD rather than the SNES one. That's great! The visuals look fairly close but what about the game itself? Are there more levels in it or something?

Actually that review idea sounds brilliant. I would love to see a SNES look at the genre, but even more I would definitely be interested in seeing you personal Top 5 or Top 10 of the genre, cross-platform. Either way would be great (since IMO the SNES is the system with the best beat-em-ups ever) since the only thing that stands out for me on the NES is Double Dragon 1 & 2 and River City Ransom and the Genesis with Streets of Rage and Golden Axe. I'd love to hear more (especially those hidden gems out there I haven't played yet)!

@JamieO

Thanks for the reply to my comments. I want to make it clear that I am extremely happy that you even took the time to do a review on this game in the first place, so any disagreements we may have over score are secondary to that.

As far as pace is concerned, I actually feel that Streets of Rage is too slow. It just doesn't do it for me. However something like King of Dragons, which also has slow moving characters feels wonderfully paced (though I admit a run would have been nice, though it doesn't break the game). Then you have Spider-Man & Venom: Separation Anxiety which has the run feature and that game feels too bogged down in itself, which = slow.

I'm sure there's someone out there who would say I'm crazy in my feeling toward Streets of Rage but I guess its really just a personal taste sort of thing. Heck, up until recently I didn't even like Final Fight. So my personal taste regarding Super Double Dragon is that it is super awesome and I love every minute of it (playing co-op is so much better though its not even funny).

I think we all can agree that DD II is an industry standard for awesomeness.

Oh and for anyone who is a fan of beat-em-ups and shoot-em-ups, may I recommend The Red Star, for PS2? This is a great unspoken gem that combines the two genres elegantly and I would strongly suggest you research and then go out and buy it!

I love the game. Personally I don't think it deserves a 6. Its at least a 7 just for the sheer fun factor of beating up those sprites. There are so many moves and it actually takes some thought and planning to progress through the game. The thing that stood out to me most (the first time I played it) was how it is NOT a simple button masher. You need to keep enemies in front of you at all times, block when appropriate, learn how to chain your combos together, or stun an enemy so you can get in close for a grapple.

Yes, there is repetition but that's part of the genre. Even the best beat-em-ups suffer from that criticism. Turtles in Time may be the best one ever (arguably) but even it falls into that trap. Thing is, if you like beat-em-ups, then you take that in stride. Why not review a shooter and complain that its just button mashing and killing spaceships for half an hour? Why not review a platformer and complain that "there's too much jumping in this game"?

It's not perfect, but the variety of moves alone helps to keep this game exciting and the music really should have been emphasized more on the positive side. This game has some great tunes. Oh, and the run feature? Really? Never would need it. Everything is very close quarters in this game and you honestly do more fighting than walking.

For beat-em-up fans, I hope this review doesn't dissuade you from picking this title up, if you can find it.

I'd love to see reviews on Maximum Carnage, King of Dragons, Super Double Dragon (yes, I love beat-em-ups) and King Arthur's World!

HURRAY!

This is fantastic news!

Very very very excited.