What very important facet was I wrong about, out of curiosity? I just see a list of things you enjoyed that I didn't.

Niki Rock N Ball: Rebirth

This was WAY better than I expected. Great review Tom. I've actually been playing it more than Space Harrier, which I never would have guessed.

Whoa! I'll be at the Denver airport in just over a week. I'll take pictures if I see anything.

Thanks for the kind words, folks! I'm glad everyone seemed to enjoy it. Particular thanks to @Klimbatize for his enormously flattering compliment. Thank you!

MY GOODNESS THIS LOOKS AWESOME

Sure, we take it into account. Or I do, at least. But we can't tell you if it's worth your money...that's for you to decide. That's why there are words in addition to a number. As you mentioned, your personal tolerance may differ for certain things depending upon the price. Others will be more tolerant or less tolerant of the same things.

@n057828 We provide the cost of each game and our thoughts on each game. It's up to you to weigh that cost and the merits of the game yourself...we can't tell you or anyone else if it's worth their own money!

after about a half hour of play I still couldn't figure out if I was winning the war or not.

So it's the world's most accurate Vietnam simulator. Good to know!

Whenever somebody leaves bombs at Nintendo Life HQ, Dazza just gives them to me to review.

^ That's hilarious. Wow.

So this was about 10 minutes from my house and I had no idea until saw the pictures this morning.

I hate that turtle.

I apologize then @dumdedum for wasting my time on this game, which you seem to believe slowed down the other reviewers who were working on those games.

Can't wait to get home and grab this. Great surprise!

@unrandomsam
I don't think a direct copy that infringes on a product still being sold legally by the creators is "the exact same violation of copyright" as a completely unique fan game based on a property owned by a company that encourages such fan games (and has even given an official stamp of approval to one), but what do I know? I actually bothered to read the articles.

EDIT: I'm referring to comment #9, by the way. Please don't post multiple times in short succession.

Ahh, I saw the title and thought it was going to be the rest of the Mega Man Game Boy games.

Of course X2 is a dad-gum masterpiece so I'm not complaining at all.

It’s a top-down, half-shooter half-platformer.

Sold.

I want dat Kapp'n!!

I'm glad they're not calling it The Great Private Dickachu.

I still use my 3D Land tanooki keyring. I hope we get this in NA...it'll be a nice companion!

A hypothetical singular terrible game has a price. In no way is the price attached to the hypothetical game implied to be what makes it terrible.

I hope this helps.

Court order.

I played this. And it's every bit as bad as Lee says.

Ugh.

Man, if that Arcade Classics game has to brag about being "playable" I'm terrified.

@Knuckles There's no official list of what's been taken and what hasn't, because I wouldn't want someone to "reserve" a game and then not actually write their piece. So by all means, go with whatever you think you can do best!

@BlackStar9000 I was definitely hoping somebody would do a licensed game. So much potential there!

@ramstrong Indeed! In fact, that's exactly what a friend and I are doing. It's good timing (I hope!) for anyone who wanted to do NaNo but didn't have any ideas...and it should still leave enough room in December and January if they'd like to do this, but write something else for NaNo. I didn't want to step on any toes.

@Zaphod_Beeblebrox A friend of mine is doing Marble Madness, and there was an actual Bases Loaded Worlds of Power book...in both cases it would take a lot of imagination to assign a story to those, so Pinball isn't out of the question at all. In fact, I hope somebody does do one of those truly "blank slate" games. It should be a lot of fun.

@DestinyMan As of right now Super Mario Bros. 3 is fair game. I say go for it!

And it doesn't have to be terrible at all. Writing a deliberately crappy adaptation is definitely one way you can go...but if you think you can turn SMB3 into a profound, moving masterpiece, then by all means do that!

Thanks for the support, everyone! It's so exciting to see the idea gaining traction like this. Let's make this awesome!

And @Phantom_R , you're in luck...nobody's mentioned The Legend of Zelda to me yet. Go for it!

Great review, and I can't disagree with it. Having said that, it was one of my first NES games, and I remember spending entire weekends playing this with friends. At the time I adored it!

Well, I sure wish it was sooner than the end of next month, but I'm not complaining. I will be picking up every last one of these. Cannot wait!

@WingedSnagret LOL

I'll...be keeping an eye on this one. Very interesting. I hope they get the license, but even if they don't I'm sure it can be great.

@ScroogeMcLz Exactly. It's a fool's errand to worry so much about that that it shapes the direction you take your entire game. Just focus on making something great, and the gamers will come around to what you did.

It's so disparaging to see that the Zelda series, which was for a few games the most adventurous series in existence, is now terrified of experimentation.

I'm with @MrWalkieTalkie on this one. I really dislike how much concern they seem to have over superficial things that the gamers may or may not like.

Show a bunch of people a picture of a cartoon Link ahead of time and of course people are going to say, "Nah. Too different. Me no likey." Then it doesn't get made.

Build a fantastic game and a memorable, engaging adventure that has a cartoon Link and it becomes something people will remember fondly.

The trick in game design isn't to make sure nobody's going to be disappointed, it's to make sure you're providing the best experience possible. And, shock-horror, anonymous complainers on the internet aren't going to be the best people to rely on when it comes to that.

Different styles serve different moods, different purposes, and different experiences. Concentrate on those things, choose the style that complements it best, and make the best darned game you can make.

END ZELDA RANT SORRY

I definitely agree the 3DS eShop version is the best. I absolutely love it...even if I'm so bad at the bonus stages that I haven't finished a single one.

Pokemon Noir YES YES YES YESYEYEYSEYSYESYEYSEYSYEYSYES

Great price for Revelations! Absolutely grab it if you don't have it yet!

Wow, both Gummy Bear titles in one day!? Have fun, Europe!

This is my first main series Pokemon game! I picked up X. Because blue.

@CanisWolfred
Thanks! And now that you say that, the text of this book is probably similar to the way I'd describe the story of Mega Man 2, while in the throes of a strong flu and Nyquil.

How is the hint about freezing time against Quick Man false?

Because you don't need to freeze time to beat Quick Man.

@JaredJ
I'll be doing all of them(!) so you can judge for yourself, but as of right now I wouldn't get my hopes up about any of them being very good. I'm jealous of your Zelda book though...I had some fun Mario ones, but no Zelda!

@Retro_on_theGo
Yep...honestly, I owe this to you. If you hadn't mentioned it on the forum I think I would have gone on forgetting about this entirely. So thank you!

@everyone else:
Thanks for the kind words! Glad you enjoyed it. It almost made reading this thing worth it.

Almost.

Awesome review. This just might be my first Pokemon title. (Outside of spinoff games, natch.)

Henry Hatsworth meets Mutant Mudds meets Kirby's Epic Yarn? I'll take eight.

@unrandomsam
X4 may well be my second favorite X game. (Behind X2 actually!) I think it's excellent.

@Kirk (163)
EXACTLY what I was thinking.

I don't want to get my hopes up or anything...but yeah. That's my thought as well.

Finally picked up the original last night. Haven't played it yet, but I'm looking forward to it. I've heard nothing but good things.

Increasingly we're getting buggy, rushed games and cheap exploits to get more money.

Not from Valve we're not.

I say bring it on.

This is the first thing that will give Nintendo a serious run for my allegience. Don't get me wrong, I'm not jumping ship entirely as long as I have Mario, Metroid, Zelda, Pikmin et al to come home to, but I am buying a Steam box. No matter what it costs. It's happening, and I can easily imagine myself falling in love with it.

Glad to hear it! The WiiWare one passed me by, so I was hoping this would be as good, or better. Great review sir!