@ninjapigstudios
"nor did I behave in a “jerk” manner which @PhotonStorm accuses me of."

Being as "jerk" describes the manner in which you've behaved on literally any outlet that I've seen you to literally every person I've seen you interact with, I'm going to go ahead and remain skeptical.

This game is brilliant fun. Probably the only time I waited for a sale, and ended up wishing I'd spent full price. Insanely difficult and crazily addictive.

(Gotta love that dark, dark game over screen, too...)

@Quorthon
I don't know. Why would you keep asking the same question I've answered three times in a row?

MYSTERIES FOR THE AGES

@Quorthon

Man, I think you need to look up the word precisely. Because here is precisely what I said:

"Repeat these words to yourself every night, 99% of developers working right now, until you understand them."

And it means what I've already said it means. It's solid advice, and I think nearly every developer working today would do well to keep it in mind.

@Quorthon
"You said 99% of developers, almost deliberately, release buggy games."

lol no, I didn't, but nice try. I said Horberg's words should be repeated by 99% of developers until they understand them, as it's solid advice.

Agree or disagree, that's fine. But don't put words into my mouth and then spend long rants trying to debunk them.

@Quorthon
Sure, it's cynical. It's cynicism borne out of a career of playing and reviewing buggy games.

And bear in mind Horberg's original quote for context. He's referring to known bugs. Nobody's doubting that video games are so complex that bugs slip through simply because they're impossible to catch before release. I don't, however, think it's too much to ask that known bugs are addressed before you start charging people for your product.

Come to think of it, I don't believe that's cynical at all. I think that's just fair.

"it would feel worse releasing it knowing about the bugs."

Repeat these words to yourself every night, 99% of developers working right now, until you understand them.

@leemeyer26
But then why did you rate it higher than Mega Man Zero!?

...oh, wait.

Dang. I'll buy / trade for this if anyone pre-orders and doesn't want it.

@LinktotheFuture
Having them all in one place, not waiting for the next to be released, and (potentially) having them all cheaper.

Otherwise...not really. The bonus features didn't do much for me, but if you're a completionist by nature maybe you'll enjoy unlocking all the art. Then again, there's no shortage of stuff to collect in the actual games, so that may not be much of a selling point.

There's also an easy mode added to these games, but man does it suck the fun out of them.

Zero is a masterpiece. 2 is even better and refines almost every shortcoming of the first game. 3 and 4 (the latter of which I have a particularly soft spot for) are awesome as well.

Wall to wall it's my favorite Mega Man series, because the quality never dropped and the experience never stagnated. A brilliant set of games.

^ Comment of the year right there.

Not disappointed at all! Four things this week are getting downloaded. Whoa Dave and Steel Empire while on sale, Xeodrifter and Phoenix Wright whenever I clear out the backlog a little.

Seems like a pretty good week to me!

Grabbing this for sure. I love Treasurenauts and Moon Chronicles chapter 2!

How many times, exactly, is Sega going to rush the development of Sonic games? By now how have they not learned their lesson? It's beyond bad planning at this point. It's willful stupidity.

TBD posted what I was just going to post.

I'm...getting kind of tired of "episodic" releases that never actually get the episodes.

@maceng
That's the first time I've heard somebody say "Having said that..." without having said anything.

It's insane how much great stuff the 3DS is getting before the year is out.

XSEED is wonderful.

Grab this. The game is great.

Yeah, I think the unlocks (by number of battles) are random. I got Wario first, and I have Dr. Mario without Lucina or Falco. (And I've beaten Classic mode a bunch of times.) My most recent unlock was Ness, so it has to be random.

the online multiplayer can be very hit-or-miss in terms of connection quality

Great review, but after the unplayable nightmare that was online Brawl, I think this is going to be the breaking point for me. Here's hoping the WiiU version is reliable.

I just finished Circle of the Moon for the first time a few months ago. I loved it.

I've not heard of this before...looking forward to it.

@Stu13
Whoops, my mistake. Ignore me.

@CanisWolfred You and me both. But it's not a long wait, at least!

I've been dying for this ever since we got Gargoyle's Quest a few years back. It's a series I remember existing, but which I never bothered with as a kid. Now I've beaten that one multiple times and cannot wait to dig into the sequel. (Hopefully sequels...)

Thanks @Knuckles!

I love this game, which is actually what I came here to say. One of my favorites for sure...though the soundtrack overall is a bit weak.

Hopefully this reviewer does better research on future reviews.

This was at least my 30th time playing through X3. Let me know how many times I should play the next one I review.

Mega Man X3 for the SNES is truly a great game and does not deserve such an unfair low review based on the personal preferences of the reviewer.

I agree; reviews should never reflect the personal preferences of the reviewer.

...erm, wait.

I can't remember the last time I've been more excited for a video game.

Out of curiosity, does anybody have any strong feelings regarding the price?

"To be fair, it is the reviewers job to know everything about what they're reviewing."

wat

I make a point of completing every game 44 times before I review it, just in case something changes.

Cave Story 3D is atrocious.

It's not that they had the audacity to toy with the art style. (Though, I must admit, it looks effing awful.) It's the fact that they rebuilt the game with 1) no understanding of how Cave Story flowed and 2) no understanding of how any game flows.

Just wait for the dialogues that span two screens. Were you ever hoping for a version of Cave Story that looked like crap AND made you wait through loading times between every spoken line? Then brother, this is the game for you.

This is one of the best games I've ever played.

Correction: I HAD TO BUY THE TRILOGY

Stay tuned.

Dang, I keep forgetting EU doesn't have SMTIV yet.

When it comes out, BUY IT. That game is a masterpiece.

I am going home to buy the arranged soundtrack and listen to it until I die.

I honestly wonder...if this game were actually released back in the NES/SNES days and was simply getting a new review now on the VC console, with all the nostalgia and childhood favoritism that comes with these old classic games, if it would still score less than the likes of Mega Man 2...

Well, we'll never know, and I certainly won't pretend that personal preference doesn't enter into reviews. Considering, y'know, reviews are based on personal preference.

But that's what the text is for, silly goose. If you read the text and think, "This sounds like a 10 to me," then it's probably a pretty solid buy! Others will read all the nice things I have to say and think, "None of that sounds anywhere near a 9 to me." And that's fine, too, of course.

Nobody is obligated to agree with every review score. Again, that would be impossible. We do our best in order to present reviews that let you decided if you'd like to play the game. That fact that I'd give it a 9 and you'd presumably give it a 10 is academic...just as you might not give Mega Man 2 a 10 today, but I obviously did.

@Danny429
Mega Man 2 and NightSky.

In the past a game like Shovel Knight, with a review as totally and utterly glowing as the one above, would usually/normally end up with a score of 10/10

Not from me, it wouldn't. In over 200 reviews, I've given out a whopping two 10s. It's very, very rare that a game pushes over that hump for me, and indie games don't "deserve" higher scores any more than any other game does. I'm not reviewing the size of the team; I'm reviewing the quality of the release.

And you may well think this is better than Mega Man 2 and Mario 3. I personally don't. But it's never a review's job to echo what its readers feel. That would be impossible, and would also negate the purpose!

Are the L/R buttons needed?

Nope!

What else would it have needed to do to get that 10?

We'd know it when we see it.

The fact that there are no glaring issues doesn't automatically qualify a game for a 10. It's a great game and a heck of a lot of fun, one I can recommend to literally any fan of platformers. But it doesn't quite reach 10 territory for me. It's that simple.

Re: frame-rate
I never noticed a dip! It played very smoothly all the way through.

Is it in 3D?

If you scroll up a bit you'll see a review. That may answer some of your questions.

can't you compare it to say, a Mega Man game, regarding length?

It's longer than a standard Mega Man game, in terms of number of stages and things to do, but since it plays much differently that doesn't mean much in terms of playtime. You might be significantly better at this game, or significantly worse. I wouldn't compare it to a Mega Man game in terms of actual gameplay.

Length estimates in other reviews have already varied substantially. There's no clear way to measure such a thing in games that don't hold your hand and guide you through. Playing is the process of learning and discovery, which is different for everybody.

I will say this, though: if your main interest in Shovel Knight is length, you haven't been paying attention to Shovel Knight.

how long does it take to play through the game? how is the replay value. can't find it in the review

I'm one of those weirdos that tends to focus on how enjoyable the game is while it lasts, rather than how long it lasts.

But, like most challenging games, it's impossible to say how long it will take you. There's an achievement for finishing it in under an hour and a half. I don't imagine many people will be unlocking that achievement their first, second, or third time through, though.

Replayability is mentioned in the review. There's a New Game +, achievements to unlock for different play styles, alternate routes, hidden rooms, optional challenges, and so on.

"Anne's Doll Studio: Lolita Collection"

I'm dying.

I AM DYING

@Nik-Davies It was. And this is my proudest moment.

@JakeShapiro:
It is my gift to you!

I have never heard better news in my life.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 what?

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 DO WHAT???