"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???

Great review, Tim. I bought it because I kept hearing praise for Pac-Man Arrangement, and as a huge Pac-Man fan I couldn't let the chance to play it pass me by.

...and I love it. The other modes are fun, too, but I've barely touched them. Arrangement is way more fun than it has any right to be.

@k8sMum It's good to see you again! I hope you are well.

the Wii U edition comes with its own custom arcade-mode skin for Aban: the Mario-inspired Mr. Video Game, which comes complete with appropriate music and a fireball attack.

The 3DS version has this as well. Were they suggesting it was unique to the WiiU?

The IGN review mentioned choppy animation for the 3DS version

No framerate issues that I was aware of, unless IGN and I are just using different terms for the same thing.

It's not a problem exclusive to the 3DS version.

Great, thank you. I don't have both versions so I couldn't compare directly.

it feels like how I /remember/ NES games feeling.

That one sentence said more than my entire review. Spot on.

Good to know, @MJongo. I did test out various permutations of characters, but I guess I didn't do that specifically. Thanks for the heads up. That's indeed a glitch that I hope is patched.

Dk Country Returns 3DS hard mode or 1001 spikes?

They're pretty different types of difficulty, so it's hard to compare, but for me at least DK Country Returns on Hard Mode was harder. I couldn't even finish that!

...of course, that just means I need to go back and try some more, which I'm not complaining about.

DKCR did have a few "frustrating" moments as opposed to addictively challenging. 1001 Spikes didn't really have many of those, in my opinion. (For what it's worth, Tropical Freeze also did a better job of keeping frustration low while the challenge was still more or less high.)

@Knux I didn't encounter any truly problematic glitches. The jiggling probably qualifies as a glitch, but I was able to adjust to it. Certainly nothing that a patch can't solve (so I hope we get one soon), and aside from some disappointment it didn't interfere with my enjoyment of the game.

I LOVE Mega Man 7. Woo!

It will be nice to give X3 a proper spin. I've only ever played that on the Anniversary Collection.

@Dazza: I won't stop you!! hahaha

This trailer is better, and very catchy theme music!

(Kiddies maybe shouldn't click.)

The final book will be free, so that's the good news. But it won't contain these stories...this is the only time you can grab them!

If you are concerned about downloading a bunch of stuff you don't want, don't worry. You will "own" these in your Groupees account, but you can download as many or as few of them as you like.

@Yomerodes
Yeah, my bad. 9 is absolutely a masterpiece. Possibly my second favorite, behind 2. I was trying to limit myself in the review to consideration of the "original" classic series, but definitely could have phrased that better. Rightly called out.

I loved Wii Music. Bring it on.

I loved it. This is great news.

But then again, I also loved the soundtrack, so what do I know.

Seaman 3D: In Your Face!!

@Giygas_95 haha, Toad Man is still a joke. I think the only place he's not a joke is in the Game Gear release. But that's mainly because it's so terribly coded.

I did actually get hit by his Rain Flush in this game, but that was because I wasn't immediately used to the timing. Beyond that he's no more difficult than usual.

@Luffymcduck
I almost mentioned that in the review, but I try not to spoil specifics of the later parts of the game. But, hey, now that it's out in the open, YES AND SERIOUSLY THAT PART IS SO AWESOME

@SparkOfSpirit
Agreed on all counts.

@gregrout Peach's course isn't DLC. It's unlockable in-game, with five others. The DLC does provide a full course. Two per pack, actually, and an additional character and unique challenges.

Brilliant news. Very deserving guy.

Comment #11:
wait a few more weeks....

NEVERMIND THIS IS EVEN BETTER NEWS

Yup! And then V next week, and Xtreme 2 the week after that.

I love Mega May.

@KnightRider666 Legit LOL

Just for the record, that 600 page book is incredible.

@C-Olimar
I just looked it up. I think somehow that game passed me by entirely.

...I think I'm also okay with that.

It's also worth pointing out that Capcom already proved with Dr. Wily's Revenge that it could provide a perfectly serviceable Mega Man experience on the Game Boy, so, no, I definitely don't give points for effort. In fact, it's a pretty large step backward in terms of effort.

Glad people are enjoying it, though!

@Geonjaha
"Combining the levels and soundtracks from my favourite NES Mega man games? (3+4)"

Stay tuned. III was quite a bit better than I remembered it being! I enjoyed it very much.

@daveh30
Sonic 4, Pearl Harbor Trilogy and EscapeVektor, all for WiiWare, come to mind.

OH IT IS ON

Tremble at the feet of my triple bogeys.

@secondserving
Yeah, I'd be very curious to see how that plays out. It's easy for you and me (and most folks who would visit a site called Nintendo Life!) to assume the Mario toys would be immediately more popular. But there's a whole generation of gamers now that is growing up on Skylanders, and to them Mario might seem like a lesser imposter.

There's no way to know until it's out, but I really do wonder.

If it doesn't take off, it's no threat. If it does take off, it moves systems, and Activision would be pretty silly to pull support after the WiiU finally gains traction. They'd be cutting off their own customers. I wouldn't worry about it.

how will Activision react to this? Will they drop support for Wii U to spite Nintendo for cutting in to their territory.

Definitely. Just like Nintendo cut ties with every company that released a kart racer.