Wow, I'm surprised at the comments here o.o I mean, my brothers and I played the crap out of that game and loved every second (and it took us six hours--SIX HOURS-- to beat Mad Jack, because we had a faulty controller that didn't allow full run speed). We found the exploration needed to find extra bananas exciting rather than tedious. Taking multiplayer breaks helped iron out the tension too. Hmm. Maybe we were just to sort of kids Rare understood~

@Funny_Moblin Nope! In fact I still have my launch-day Nintendo DS and my demo copy of Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt, and both work fine to this day. I'd recommend maintaining the contacts (metal bits) of your older games so that they don't deteriorate, but other than that it's just about responsible use. The number of times you pop a game in and out shouldn't matter one bit; I'd be more worried about the spring mechanisms that hold the card in place in the actual system. But again, my DS is almost a decade old and works fine when I need it to!

@Kirk You have some interesting ideas there actually. It'd be interesting to see some of those, such as a larger persistent world and maybe "settling" your own town in the wilderness, brought to the series.

@Funny_Moblin Haha, oh well. I guess you could say I'M a typical Xbox 360 COD player myself, but I do have time to play games on every other system as well This week, between Animal Crossing, e3, and The Last of Us, is set up to be one for the ages =o

@Kirk Actually these graphics are quite good. They use the same shaders and lighting engine used in Super Mario 3D land, and in various videos there's evidence of reflection, refraction, and even bump mapping for surface textures (grass, snow) going on. I don't really see how they could push the art style much further without losing the integrity of its charm.

Also, New Leaf introduces more new gameplay mechanics than any entry in the series. There's a literally mind-boggling list of dialogue options, town settings, and occupations to experience and once you've done all that, you'll likely have spent more time in Animal Crossing than in many other games combined.

I know you're not just idly complaining, though, because both of your posts here were well-written. I'm curious; what sort of gameplay changes would you like to see in Animal Crossing? Be honest Thanks!

@Funny_Moblin Well, most of the events in your town (Halloween, tournaments) are based on the calendar and will occur whether you're connected to the internet or not. Your friends can participate in these with you on the day that they occur. Most events take place in your town, or on the island getaway you can get to later in the game. You have a small part in choosing the layout of your town at the beginning of the game, but other than that you don't have any control over the maps.

@Fronzy Sorry, but Animal Crossing is pretty one-of-a-kind. It's a very slow, chill game that serves a different purpose from any other game: it slows you down, lets you relax. It's like The Sims without the pressure. I say it's a very valuable game that'll get you laughing. Give it a shot!

@Funny_Moblin Oh, and in previous Animal Crossing games, your house would take a maintenance hit after a VERY long absence (dust and roaches)... I haven't waited long enough to see if that happens in New Leaf yet, but it's only an annoyance at worst anyway.

@Funny_Moblin I haven't confirmed this with anybody yet, but the rate at which your town "decays" (weeds growing, flowers dying, etc.) seems much slower in this game than in Wild World. Also, there are a few "town ordinances" you can enact as mayor to help you out with certain town maintenance issues if you're going to be away for a while (on vacation or something). Residents can move in and out of the town whether or not you see them off, so you may come back to a completely new cast of characters after a few months. Other than that, your town should remain mostly unchanged over time. It's fairly forgiving... not that you'll want to stop playing it =P

@SBOY Midnight EDT =P He/she might live west of there.

@Doma Haha, AC usually gives you different things to do every day. Also, it's a game you should look forward to playing for an hour a day for years, not eight hours a day for a week.

@Funny_Moblin You'll find that you form a deeply personal connection to your town and losing that would be a significant bummer. Also, if you're going for a perfect town rating, or a complete collection of bugs, fish, and fossils, know that these things can take months--if not YEARS--to accomplish. So yeah, there's a lot to lose IF that stuff is important to you.

You know, I wasn't totally blown away by the Uncharted series and I'm sure I won't be that impressed by The Last of Us, either. Games like Super Mario Galaxy and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker give me a giddy feeling of timelessness that stays with me for a long time, a feeling I don't get from "mature" games like these. But it's why I play video games; if Nintendo sacrificed that feeling in favor of telling a more dramatic story, the quality of the industry would suffer. After all, OTHER STUDIOS ALREADY MAKE THE GAMES YOU WANT. Why do you need Nintendo to make even more of them?!

@Mowzle If it's like the Fire Emblem special edition, the save is made to the game data itself on the SD card. The SD card can be used in other systems, but the game will ONLY BOOT in the system it came with, unless you perform a system transfer. This should only be a problem if you plan on buying another 3DS in the near future

I am getting the 3DS XL limited edition, because I want it on my console always and don't wanna wait for it to download! lol

@skyluigi2 I'm glad it impressed NL this much. Animal Crossing is like a staple of my life, so this pretty much guarantees it's going to be a "10"-worthy experience for me!

@Trikeboy Yeah but the violent instances you're describing are over in half a second; it isn't like they define the game. And they certainly shouldn't define any movie based on the games, although it'd probably make it more popular >.>

@ThomasBW84 I agree with RaymanFan, the Zelda series has always been more about fantasy and exploration than the combat itself, which is always downplayed and lighthearted even in the MOST mature Zeldas. I actually think the series is more mature in its occasional profound creepiness if anything.

This trailer would be for a movie that would please hardcore shooter players who maybe play a little Zelda. I'm not sure it's the movie "we all want to see.:

@StephenYap3 I wish the ground sections could match the mania and spectacle of the flying sections, but it's still my favorite Nintendo title since Zelda: Wind Waker =P

DKCR3D for me, and of course Kid Icarus has a permanent spot in my library. I don't think I've been as charmed by a video game in years; here's hoping Animal Crossing, Mario and Luigi, Pokemon, and Zelda continue the 3DS's tradition of excellence in the back half of this year!

Now if you'll excuse me... cryogenically freezes myself until 6/9

My favorite is exeggcute + ghastly:

exeggtly.

If you guys haven't played Metroid Fusion on the GBA, give that one a shot too :3 It's one of my favorite portable games because it took so much of what made Super Metroid awesome! And it's the only 2D shooter to have ever legitimately scared me, with surprise bosses and that creeper Samus doppelganger. On such a small screen too!

I'm surprised at a lot of you! Love can take so many forms, and it isn't our place to say which ones are right or wrong.

@ToxieDogg Yeah but that was enough for me to play through HALF of Kid Icarus Uprising on full brightness with 3D on. After that it was about time to go outside and give the poor handheld a break :3

@hydeks It's important to realize how small of a percentage of Nintendo's audience actually watch e3. I don't have the figure in front of me, but I'm sure it would surprise you. The excitement and press it generates is apparently not worth the extravagance of a large-scale presentation anymore, and I wouldn't be surprised if Sony and Microsoft follow suit next year.

@TimLatshaw HAHAHAHA

My favorite one from Wild World:

I caught a carp!
Carpe carp!

...it just makes sense.

@Game0ver_Gavin PSN version is the definitive version. The Wii version is better than the PS2 version just because of progressive scan and 16x9, but the PS3 version's HD makeover is just beautiful and the painting controls are better than ever. Happy gaming!~

@Melkaticox
yyyyeah... Just don't delve too far into the internet in regards to her. That journey only ends in wtf moments.

@Smitherenez Yeah, but they've waited 20 years to recycle it. That's better than most other developers =P

God Metroid Prime on Wii U would look amazing.

I think this might have been better received if it were $1.99, but as a full $6 eShop title it sounds pretty disappointing >:

...I actually think the gameplay sounds fun from a sort of endless challenge sort of standpoint o.o

I kept holding out for Tales of Hearts for the DS, but no-show... Maybe we'll get the Vita version or a port of that version.

@AlexSora89 I know, right? I played through the Galaxy games recently and they literally look like next-gen titles, just rendered at a cripplingly low resolution. Nintendo's going to freaking blow us away with the next round of first party hits, I can tell you that much.

Borderlands 2 is absolutely chock full of references to popular culture (Yu-Gi-Oh, My Little Pony, you name it--it's in there somewhere).

In addition to having an achievement/trophy reference to the Mario series ("Definitely an Italian Plumber" for killing a special bullymong called Donkey Mong), there is also a reference to the Zelda series (Crazy Earl will sometimes say "It's dangerous to go alone, jerkwad!" when you meet him at the black market).

One of my favorite games :3

@kyuubikid213 Well over half. Games that run at 1080p on consoles are a vast minority.

Okay... so what? No CoD since CoD4 has run at 1080p, on any platform (except PC). They have almost all run at 600p, which is exactly between 480p and 720p. It's technically not even HD on consoles.

What is this, Horseville? 'Cause I'm surrounded by neigh-sayers!

Whatever... games don't very often run native even at 720p on the Xbox and some look very pretty. Modern Warfare 2 runs at 600p, and that game blew me away visually at the time.