I've got a light homework load this weekend,and no other major obligations (the first in months) and I plan to delve deep into my recently obtained copy of Terranigma. Being a US gamer I never had the chance to play this SNES classic back in the day, and considering how much I loved Soul Blazer and Illusion of Gaia, I was shocked to hear we missed out on this unofficial sequel. I do have to continue through Xenoblade too at some point.

For whatever reason, Nintendo seems keen on making it as hard as possible for developers to get there projects into the hands of consumers, at least in the case of the Wii. I mean how long have we been waiting for La Muluna, only to have it pulled out from undernieth us? Hopefully Nintendo changes their policies with the Wii U, but until I see it, I don't see indie developers picking up what Nintendo is putting down.

I've always hoped Kid Icarus would've eventually become a Symphony of the Night esque game, with hand drawn 2D sprites, and open world that expands as your abilities do, and a completely customizable weapons/armor system. Sadly, it didn't turn out that way.

The controls are a huge barrier, whether or not you're using them as intended. If you have to play in a specific way, and have it explained by the creator that you're doing it wrong, that's just poor design. I love the game, but I can't agree with the choices made on the touch screen control scheme.

@Tasuki
I'm pretty sure I still have the right to express my disdain for Nintendo's poor decisions. I love Nintendo as a developer, but they truly suck as a company, especially if you live in North America. Maybe if more people questioned the things they do, instead of lying down as you are, change would actually be possible.

Nintendo should just release the "We will no longer be offering Virtual Console titles in North America because we don't like you." statement and be done with it.

Theres no question, in my mind, that Nintendo is the best developer in the world hands down. That being said, as far as the company as a publisher, well, there's a lot of room for improvement. Everything from their localization policies to the half baked Virtual Console support has shown that clearly they don't have other developers OR fans at the forefront of their decision making. We are still waiting for La Maluna, for example, and this is a game that's been finished for half a year. The frustration Beamdog and others are feeling towards Nintendo seems justified, based solely on how I see them treat the fans. Nintendo needs to wake up and start doing things differently.

I think all this really confirms is that the game will be a 2D sidescroller, and you'll be able to play as your Miis. I doubt it'll look as much like NSMBW as last years demo did. As I said in the other news threads, I really hope it's less a homage and more a true sequel. Of course if it had a mode where you could design your own levels, I wouldn't care if it was just another NSMB game, because that would seriously validate the price right there on its own.

Truth is I wouldn't mind NSMB Mii, but I just can see Nintendo releasing yet another one of those games soley on the ability to play as your Mii alone. It's just not enough to warrant it's existance. Assuming this is a launch game, Nintendo will want to do something that shows off what the system can do; not just in terms of graphics, but also it's much touted second screen capability. My guess is that if the NSMB team is working on a 3DS game, as has already been confirmed, it's more likely the Galaxy team is working on this one. The fact that many notable names were missing from the SM3DL credits lends credence to this theory. My bet is it won't be Galaxy 3 though, as the team has already expressed that they wouldn't be able to do much more with that concept. It should be an interesting E3 this year.

What I really want to see is a new side scrolling Mario that breaks away from the NSMB mold. If you look at Super Mario bros. 1 through World, each of them was unique and I'd really like to see a new 2D Mario that kind of picks up where those games had left off. Not that I didn't like NSMB (the Wii version anyway), but those games where really more of a homage to the original game, than true sequels.

NOA cares not for Virtual Console, nor the people who do; that much is clear. I just can't believe they've gotten this bad, though. I defended them for the longest time, but I just can't anymore. There really is no excuse good enough to justify these piss poor updates. We use to be able to count on at least a couple of good games a month, but now even THAT is a thing of the past it seems.

I'll only agree with this assertion when Mario platformers actually do begin to feel stale. Truth is though, all of Mario's recent games have been excellent, so I think it's too early to be pushing the "running it into the ground" button just yet. I also hope damn well that Mario's there for us at Wii Us launch.

Seeing these screenshots really takes me back to the mid 90s, leafing through issues of Nintendo Power/GameFan/Gamepro/EGM, looking at the gorgeous SNES graphics of all the hottest upcoming games. It's probably too early to say, but I applaude the direction this game is going in, and on top of that, Dreamrift has proven well it's up to the task of preserving the feeling of all those great 16-bit platformers. I urge all of you to seek out Henry Hatsworth and/or Monster Tale; some of the finest 2D action on the DS. I'm also hoping Konami realizes that 2D sprite based graphics still have a place on the 3DS, and gets IGA working on the next Dractroid STAT!

The Wii rocked even being the technical underdog it is, so I couldn't care less how Wii U stacks up to PS3 or Xbox 360. I understand that it's important to developers, and that, in turn, has an affect on the 3rd party situation, but the way I see it, there really aren't a whole lot of 3rd parties doing anything unique anyway. Nintendos games are a shimmering beacon in a sea of FPS and WRPGs, which are genres that were never my cup of tea really. Even once great Japanese developers like Capcom and Square-Enix haven't been producing the compelling content they originally became known for. The bottom line is that you should buy a Nintendo console for Nintendo's games, and that should be reason enough.

I noticed my suggestion of a specific alternative to waiting for Nintendo to get their thumbs out of their you know what in regards to Virtual Console have been deleted from last weeks update, so I won't mention anymore than this: there are other ways to get your retro fix, and if Nintendo doesn't want our money, don't give it to them.

Wow... just... WOW!

3DS really came close to being the second system that failed for Nintendo, but in the end they played it smart, humbled themselves, admitted their mistakes and now the system is back on track. This does have me quite hopeful for the launch of Wii U, which should be priced fairly, have a must have 1st party game at launch, and a fully operational online store with new, quality content on day one. I guess we'll have a better idea if they've learned from their mistakes in a couple of months. This years E3 will be a good one for sure!

And the rich get richer. (In VC titles I mean)

I am genuinely pissed off by this update.

I hate that annoying little box popping up and chime noise when I'm trying to play my PS3 in peace. I'm also secure enough in myself not to need some inflated number that really just shows people the pathetic amount of free time I have rather than it is something to be proud of.

In the interest of getting the game out sooner, I wouldn't mind if he just dropped the whole adventure mode altogether. Let's be honest, did anyone here really play it more than once anyway? Seriously, after all the characters were open, there was no point in it anymore.

As I always say, out with the old and in with the nucleus.

I fully expect to hear some more details about 3DS games we already know about. Maybe we'll get release dates for Luigi's Mansion, Paper Mario and Animal Crossing. Perhaps some new 3DS games will be announced as well. It'd be nice if Nintendo had one or two secret Wii titles waiting to be announced to make the wait for their next console a bit easier, but I personally don't expect to hear much, if anything at all, about Wii U from this.

I think it should be called the NESIX. Basically meaning NINTENDO ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM 6.

I think as long as Wii U has it's online infastructure and eShop ready, as well as a mainline Mario game, the launch should be a successful one. At the same time I realize sub par system launches aren't exclusive to the 3DS, as most systems released in the last decade have had the same problem. If Wii U can actually manage to launch with a good variety of high caliber software, it would be a first for any system in a long while. Last one I can remember was the Dreamcast, which had probably the most incredible launch ever.

It never bothered me that Nintendo was lagging behind in the online space, but it's nice to see that they have a much better plan this time around. Yeah, it sounds like friend codes are all but gone, and the network being open to other developers services and content is going to be a huge advantage for Nintendo, I feel. Anxious to see more.

I think they summed it up well at the end when referring to digital downloads. If these aren't tied to the accounts then they'll pretty much be useless, imo.

I really do prefer tangable, boxed games myself, but few could argue that digital distribution isn't the future, and it's nice to see that Nintendo is preparing for it.

I think this is the feature that the Street Fighter producer guy was talking about. A lot of potential with this technology.

Always happy to hear a new Mario title is on the way, but I had assumed they were working on one for Wii Us launch. Perhaps they are going to interact somehow... so excited to hear more!

Kind of hard to keep a system relevant when you stop putting out games for it. I understand shifting focus to the 3DS, but having only two good games (in the US, three in the UK) over the entire year is unacceptable.

This update made me realize something; I'm not so much worried about rebuying VC games on Wii U as I am of having to go through the pain of waiting for each of my favorites to again be released. It's my hope that they've been holding back releases because they're working of making sure every game handles the transition without any issues, so we can have all the games we have now, on day one, preferably without having to rebuy them again. Otherwise, I just give up on this nonsense. I always thought a retro game service was a good idea, because it'd be kind of like iTunes for games, but Nintendos slow release schedule is frustrating to the point where it's hard to enjoy the games that have made it over.

So developers are already looking for excuses not to put their games on Nintendos console? This is such a BS answer too, as I'm sure between the 360 and PS3 versions, one of them has to be a port. Actually both are probably ported from the PC version, assuming there is one. It's also possible they simply don't have development kits yet and are assuming the architecture, like Wii, requires more effort to port to.

I think it's safe to say this will release in November on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. That's when both the GCN and Wii released, and it's right before the shopping season kicks off. I best prepare for an all night long wait in the cold for this thing then.

It's funny, I have friends who raved about the original game saying things like "you can drift like in Mario Kart" or "there are lots of characters and vehicles like in Mario Kart." I always responded with "well why play this over Mario Kart then?" They never had an adequite response for me.

Looks good and is exciting because it's one of the few games we know to be coming to Wii U. Once we see Nintendo's Mario, Metroid, Zelda, etc as well as other notable 3rd party ports, however, NO ONE will care about this game anymore. That seems to be a something that happens at this stage in the history of every Nintendo console; we hear about games and are excited just because it makes the idea of new hardware that much more tangable, but in the end, we know we won't give games like this a second look.

Maybe they did but I doubt it was doing all the things the PS3 and 360 versions were doing. That's not to say I'm not impressed with the technical ability of the 3DS, because I truly am, but I see no reason to play an inferior version of a game I can get on better hardware. Even if it is portable.

Meh, I want a Wii U version featuring the triumphant return of Link to the series!

Whatever animated movies are coming out in the second half of the year, BOOM, there's your two secret titles.

Those logos look pretty fake and hastilly thrown together to me, so I don't think this rumor has any merit.

Glad to see Wii Virtual Console games coming back finally, and starting with a really good game to boot. I'm wondering if I should start hoping to see Yoshi's Island again...

Wow, between this and Fortune Street, NOA is releasing some pretty obscure stuff lately that I wouldn't expect them to. Meanwhile Last Story will likely sit in the vault never to see light on American shores.

It's cool Sakurai, take all the time you need I say. This news shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, and the fact that he still hasn't started leads me to believe we definately won't be seeing anything about this game at E3 this year. It shouldn't be that big of a deal, assuming Nintendo has plenty of other Wii U software to release in the meantime.

Why didn't they just make this for Wii? I don't want to add a bunch of plastic to my 3DS to make this comfortable to play when there exists a perfect control solution on the console hooked up to my TV... lost opportunity I say. So sad.

So much ignorance out there on this subject. Yes, emulators can increase resolution of Wii games, BUT it rarely runs games %100 properly and some games don't even work at all. Not to mention it takes some pretty high end PCs to do just that much. It's not so much a cost issue as it is a compatability issue. It would be a PR nightmare to impliment a feature that would only work on a small percentage of games. I'm just happy we will get to see Wii games running through the cleaner output of HDMI with digital PCM audio. It's somewhat of an improvement at least.

Shows just how in the minority traditional gamers are, sadly. When I read the title of the article, I immediately asked "Besides Kirby, what else was there for Wii in 2011 to outsell it?" Luckilly sales numbers don't indicate good games from bad, because Skyward Sword is freaking awesome. Zumba Fitness is NOT.

It'd be suicide to put a console out these days that DIDN'T do more than just play games.

I'm definately excited for this game, but extremely concerned about the controls. I really wish this was coming to Wii instead, as those would be the ideal controls for this game. Sin and Punishment controlled like a dream.

I hope so, although I don't expect much before June. It would seem that the design for the console and controller are final however, based on Reggies comments from the Spike TV interview. Unfortunately, we still don't know what's inside that beautiful box yet, and I wager we won't have any idea until E3, when it's likely the first official games will be shown for the first time.