3DSWiiUFanatic

I would subscribe to this service if it came to North America. I already subscribe to 1-Up Box which is similar.

I went to a Hastings store (that's an American book/movies/music store) yesterday and found a Lucario and Gold Mario amiibo out of the package for 10 dollars each. I couldn't believe it. Still, I'm pessimistic about the Animal Crossing amiibo situation for North America, and I'll definitely be waiting on Happy Home Designer. Not sure yet on Amiibo Festival, but if it really requires amiibo to play, it's probably not worth the trouble.

This looks so much like Ni No Kuni or Fantasy Life that I will pre-order, or pick it up as soon as it's out. Sounds great

Good read. I was looking forward to this game, but reading that there is no actual "scoring" of your design by the villagers makes me question how much actual fun this will be beyond a couple hours. I was expecting grades or something, at least some kind of basic check by the computer that you made the walls blue when the villager asked for blue walls. To not have even that just seems pointless. So now I'm much less excited for this, and will probably divert my hype towards amiibo festival instead. Hopefully that turns out better!

I agree, these deals are not impressive, and include things I've seen on similar clearance prices at retail stores (not video games). The video game selection is basically non-existent in the US, as far as Prime Day.

@TwilightAngel I disagree, though I bought the Wild Cards Premium edition because of all the physical extras. Bought it on sale, so I feel where you're coming from, but it's a good game, especially as an Etrian Odyssey game (rather than Persona... I never played the originals, so I wouldn't know).

This sounds AWESOME!!! San Diego is great fun anyway, but from what I hear Comic-con is crazy. Make the trip, people!

I'm indifferent to early access, but I generally like free demos and think they are a good way to generate interest in a game, so I think the recent Nindies@home promotion was pretty cool even though I didn't have a chance to take advantage of it. Personally, I have a huge backlog of full retail games and eshop games plus many upcoming games that I'm super excited for, on both Wii U and 3DS, so I'm not exactly scrounging for games to play.

Ooh, didn't the Fire Emblem Awakening demo come out a month or so before the retail release? That's not exactly early release as you describe it in the article, but it succeeded in generating buzz for a successful retail release, I think.

I doubt progress will transfer (the check-in feature is not the same as uploading your save, as far as I know).. I was thinking that would be a cool feature, but It may be impractical. As for the game, it's a big hit in my family, and these rumors of paywall are greatly exaggerated, you really don't have to ever spend any real money in the game. Yes you need to spend the gold coins or jewels every once in a while, but we have multiple systems that are caught up on everything (except a few S ranks) that have never purchased any additional jewels from the eshop. The game in no way forces you to spend any money, ever. With that said, I recently bought a few bucks of jewels just to support the game, because I think it's great.

Red Dwarf was great. Glad to have caught it on PBS here in the USA back in the late 90s. It's on Netflix streaming, or was recently. I daresay it was funnier than Hitchhiker's Guide (the books) because of the brilliant cast.

Glad to see them release anything on the virtual console anymore. I will upgrade for $2 on my 2nd Wii U system that has all my old Wii data (hence being able to upgrade to the Wii U version) but I probably won't bother downloading it on the main Wii U that we use.

I just bought Star Fox Command at Gamestop for 4.99 (no case) so I guess I'll skip the download purchase.

Just watched the Treehouse, and this game looks fantastic. Probably already been linked but here you go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGwLy6eAZpE

Just glancing at the screenshots and this looks fun. I realize it's not the game the hardcore Animal Crossing fans wanted, but it might just broaden the audience with more casual fans like myself. I'm actually really interested in this game since I like the Wii U and want more good games for it.

They do look really cool! Reading the comments has made me realize that the amiibo problem is very relative and pretty silly anyway. I actually liked Nintendo's e3 and the new games they announced. The amiibo functionality for some of the new games (like Animal Crossing amiibo festival and Home Designer) sounds like it actually has potential to be engaging beyond DLC locking as has been discussed before by others. Maybe Nintendo should consider offering downloadable DLC of the amiibo stuff where the amiibo aren't really the necessary (e.g. The FIRE EMBLEM characters in Codename STEAM). That would please the fans who just want the content, and make them money. Who would be mad? The amiibo collector? I doubt it. He/she probably wants to play as Marth too.

I'm excited to play Hyrule Warriors on 3DS because I never bought it on Wii U. An All-Stars edition with all the DLC would be an insta-buy for me.

C'mon. What he said wasn't that irresponsible or rude towards Nintendo. And I agree, there are waaaaay too many Infinity toys in existence. Every store seems to have an endless supply in my area. The amiibo stock situation gets fixed once and for all as soon as they release the card format amiibo for a reasonable price. The fad needs to evolve.

Got Lucina and Greninja yesterday (had to pay scalper to get them, but they are NA versions in pristine condition). Only missing Jiggly, Captain Falcon, Meta Knight, Shulk (for obvious reasons, stupid exclusives). The amount of money I spent is obscene, but I'm optimistic that the collection is worth (i.e. would sell one day) more than I spent.

Then again, it might be a fad just like Beanie Babies where the market crashes as soon as demand goes down. These are mass produced after all. There have to be many thousands of the rare figures, right? I hope Nintendo releases all of the amiibo in affordable card format, so I can actually use the rare ones.

I'll import a Chibi Robo amiibo just so I can have a near complete collection. I'm only missing a few anyway. I think a western release would be a bad idea honestly. It's just not recognizable here.

Then again, I didn't think the Fire Emblem amiibo would be such hot items and here we are. At least they're reasonably affordable to import, and maybe even available in places like Europe or Australia/New Zealand. I imported Marth from Japan, and Ike from Europe (via Amazon.co.uk) so I assume Europe has a little better luck with these things, and Japan should have plenty.

This looks amazing. The My Castle feature reminds me a little of the Suikoden series, which is my favorite. Glad to hear about the amiibo support as well (I have Ike and Marth). I managed to order a Robin on launch day, just need to grab a Lucina at some point. Can't bring myself to open them yet, but someday.

Wow that is a long wait, but we should be grateful ATLUS is publishing these globally. I'm currently playing Persona Q and Etrian Mystery Dungeon, so I'm definitely in the mood for Etrian Odyssey Untold 2. Loved the first one even though I stopped playing after the 4th or 5th stratum.

Thanks for the info, this is my first humble bundle purchase (though I've heard of them before). I paid the 10 to get the extra couple games. I shared the codes for the games I already have with friends and family, and also recommended they check it out. This is a fantastic deal for Wii U and 3DS owners, even at that 10 dollar price point. I believe Guacamelee alone cost that much originally, and is worth it.

Guessing this is not related to the Atelier Iris series on Playstation...

Great article! It's nice to read that this family is enjoying Codename STEAM together. (Now I'm tempted to get a 2nd copy to try out local multiplayer). I loved the game, I'm at the end, but now I'm holding out for amiibo restock or the amiibo cards to be released. (Currently playing Persona Q and Etrian Mystery Dungeon)

Pokemon MD Gates to Infinity was excellent, so I'm really excited for another entry. I bought the game recently via Amazon and then ended up with another copy after buying some games on craigslist. Anyway, having 2 copies allowed me and my son to use the streetpass feature in the game, so it was really handy (you can share revive seeds with each other to resume even after being defeated). Hope they continue to put in cool features like this (even though that feature was somewhat criticized in the review on NL if I remember correctly).

This is an 8 for me as well, but Pokemon Shuffle is like a 9.5 or 10, and has taken all my spare time and Pokemon energy. I still have Rumble World and check in every day but don't play it often anymore after doing the first couple balloons a few times.

It's not that it's not great, I just have better options at the moment. (I just downloaded Xenoblade 3D, and also trying to play Pokemon mystery dungeon simultaneously). My 8 year old son and wife play both Pokemon Shuffle and Rumble World at least an hour every day. We have never spent money to get more diamonds or jewels, but I may someday just to pay for our enjoyment of the games.

I'd pay 80 for this on release day, probably even 100 depending on the extras/packaging. I'd really like to snag one of the Premium Wild Cards edition bundles for Persona Q, but they're still a bit high at 60 US dollars. Probably still worth it, except I haven't played Persona before so I hate to invest that much in an unknown.

Negativity and criticism aside, the original Fantasy Life is one of the most amazing games on the 3DS. It's probably the best action RPG I've ever played, as an overall experience. There's just so much you can do in that game. I am grateful to Level-5 for making such an excellent game, and I wish them luck in their future endeavors. I don't plan on getting Fantasy Life 2, but we'll see. I have many 3DS systems and one smartphone, and I mostly use the phone for phone things.

Played the demo of the original and thought I would get the game later once it became discounted. Nice to see another entry in the series, this might pique my interest again. My Wii U is collecting dust these days since there's so much awesomeness on 3DS.

@Captain_Gonru Both good ideas. I kind of like that the view is very limited during enemy turns, and it's to your advantage to switch to the character who you think will witness the movements best at a given time. But the auto switch doesn't seem very effective as you describe. Still that's a pretty minor complaint for an otherwise brilliant game.

The first Fantasy Life is my favorite game on 3DS. Not interested in a smartphone version of the game. Really don't think I'll be checking it out with any kind of enthusiasm.

Looking forward to this some day, but just ordered Pokemon Mystery Dungeon. Might be more suited to my family's game preferences than Etrian Mystery Dungeon, though I'm personally a big fan of Etrian Odyssey. This game sounds a little frustrating from the review though.

Loving the game, and glad they're patching the main aspect that people complained about. I found the wait during enemy turns to be more and more tolerable as the game went on, but that's just me. I just cleared chapter 11 and was sent to a new land, so that's an interesting turn for the game. Can't say enough how much I love this game so far. And I haven't even scanned in my Fire Emblem amiibo yet

I preordered it, and am through the first 4 chapters. The game is fantastic, if you liked the demo at all, you'll enjoy this game. I'm curious if there's more characters, and I'm really eager to try out the Fire Emblem amiibo support. Really happy with this game. I think it's at least an 8/10 if not close to a 9.

I'm with @Iggly That theme is awesome! I plan on buying the game eventually but right now Codename STEAM and Pokemon Shuffle consume all my gaming time.

Still nothing compared to the LA Times headline about Nintendo's Playstation 4. http://www.inquisitr.com/1295902/nintendos-white-playstation-4-debuts-los-angeles-times/

Playstation store had a sale on Lego games, so I just bought Hobbit and LoTR for for pretty cheap. I had Hobbit on Wii U already but haven't gotten too far in it. I'm disappointed the game is incomplete in terms of the trilogy, but it's still a decent game and these things happen. Makes sense from a business perspective too, I'd say.

I like what I see, very optimistic that this game will be good.

I've been hyped for this game since they showed/teased it, and the Fire Emblem amiibo support put me over the top. I've got it preordered through Gamestop to get one of those Majora's Mask pins. I've got no beef with Wheaton; I'll judge the game on its own merits.

Looking forward to Tengami, been waiting for an excuse to buy it. Also Tipping Stars eventually

Thank you, worked for me! Also going to put in the codes for Emboar and Serperior. https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/01/reminder_grab_your_free_emboarnfor_pokemon_omega_ruby_and_alpha_sapphire

Nice to see accessory reviews, well done. As an owner of multiple 3DS systems, I consider the case an important part of the console experience. Will definitely look for these

YES! DKC HYPE to the MAX

I think Syrek24 makes some valid points about fans of Nintendo in general, but stock issues aside, I think there are some valid complaints about what Nintendo has done in the digital market. I just hope DKC (for example) comes out in North America before they abandon the virtual console entirely. And they should definitely release the rare Wii games like Xenoblade Chronicles and Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn, if only so more gamers can play them. Nintendo seems to take 1 step forward and 2 steps back and upset everyone in the process. But I tend to agree most of the criticism is unfair or uninformed.

As someone who worked a few years in retail (at Wal-Mart, as well as others) I find most of those stories hard to believe, but I don't find it hard to believe that someone would buy multiple copies of hard to find amiibo. I would too. I've given up on the retail amiibo game here in the USA, it's not really worth it. I just order 'em online, and pay up to double the MSRP but that's still within my budget. Beats going to the stores every day.

This is all fantastic news. Would love to see them re-release some of the Amiibos that sold out quickly (I bought two Pits for $35 each) so more have a chance to grab them.

"Iwata-san revealed that the big N still plans to release an external NFC reader/writer to enable 3DS owners who haven't yet upgraded to "New Nintendo 3DS" hardware to use amiibo within games such as Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS - this add-on device is now planned for a Summer release." Glad to hear an update on this, thanks!

Loved the Soapbox. I hadn't quite thought about handhelds this way before, but it's accurate. I remember the old Gameboy and Gameboy Advance, and how much I loved them and carried them around with me everywhere, playing every chance I got. And then the original DS came out and I had Super Mario 64 in my hands, and it was like nothing was limiting the handheld system in comparison to home consoles of just a few years prior. I ended up also getting a Playstation Portable (which I also liked, but the disc reader broke early on and I had no warranty, so it became a bit of a brick) and only returning to Nintendo handhelds when I bought a black 3DS about 3 years ago. (This was shortly after the Ambassador program had been going for a while, and it turned out the uses system I bought was eligible for the Ambassador games, so it was a major score!)

Shortly after that I bought a second 3DS, the Zelda Ocarina of Time special edition, so I could streetpass and play multiplayer with the first 3DS. These systems were the heart of gaming for our household for many months. I bought a third 3DS system shortly thereafter, so my son, my wife and I could all game together. Fantasy Life became a VERY popular pastime in our home.

Now I've upgraded all 3 of our 3DS systems to 3DS XLs and intend to eventually pass down the standard size models to my nieces so they can have an upgrade from their DS systems.

I really want the Majora's Mask special edition New 3DS XL eventually, but I'm forced to be patient. On the flip side, many are selling their previous model 3DS systems so I was able to buy two really nice used 3DS XLs for about 300 bucks (120 for a black/black XL, 180 for a Zelda edition XL) on the secondary market (with some games and extras).

So I'm not mad at Nintendo for stock issues, that's bound to happen when stuff is new and popular. I would really like some news on the amiibo peripheral for the previous 3DS systems so I can play Codename STEAM with Fire Emblem characters.

Etrian Odyssey IV Legend of the Titan because Millennium Girl sold me on the franchise. Both are a great deal at 14.99!

Regarding infringement: TechJunkie69 is correct, in my experience. A company has to defend its trademark to retain ownership, but it's doubtful a large company would notice if a college student made a custom amiibo and sold it for a couple hundred bucks. It looks like this listing attracted enough attention that Nintendo or some nebulous legal entity requested it taken down, or maybe the seller didn't like how high the number was getting. Anyway, I've sold custom toys where the creator made a unique package similar to this (featuring a clearly trademarked logo) and it's usually such a labor of love that a creator probably wouldn't get back enough profit to justify the work and effort and time, resources, etc. So I really like this amiibo, and I would totally bid on it, and probably spend a stupid amount to buy it, specifically because it is one of a kind.