AndrewOnett

These are some weird times. Again, the Nintendo presentation at E3 2013 is going to have have a major influence on hardware and software sales. The unfortunate reality is that the market is shrinking and there is no way of telling what the outcome will be for any major developer.

An easy solution to making the NSMB series more enjoyable would be to:
1.) Change the god awful soundtrack. Music is key to provoking emotion and engrossing the player into the experience.
2.) Expand the character selection and give them unique abilities/attributes much like Mario Bros. 2. Make Peach, Toad, Luigi, Mario and maybe even Wario playable and suddenly you've got yourself an entirely different game with a different storyline.

I'm curious if GameFreak will make a bold move similar to the jump from G/S to R/S/E in terms of the reallocation of stats, typing, abilities and moves. This series is in dire need of balancing to make the older Pokemon relevant again. Why not? The game is getting a 3D makeover, so why not give the entire game a complete overhaul?

Ubisoft's lack of faith is somewhat understandable. However, the decision make it multiplatform is premature. I guarantee you that Ubisoft along with everybody else who is skeptical will change their mind after Nintendo's presentation at E3 2013. The massive amounts of unnecessary hysteria is obnoxious. E3 couldn't come any sooner.

I thought it was a bit strange that Sega worked extremely hard to give Sonic a new image along with an entirely new direction with the Sonic Adventure series just to ditch the concept after two and a half games (counting Sonic Heroes.) If it is indeed an Adventure game, let's hope it stays true to its style by keeping a similar engine and soundtrack. Fumie Kumitani and Jun Senoue (Crush 40) definitely played a major role in making a compelling atmosphere for the series.

Oh, and I wonder if James is feeling the hype?

As I've said before, It's going to be an amazing E3 this year. Once some big Wii U announcements are made and more of the great 2013 3DS titles are released, all of the doom and gloom talk will cease. It's safe to say that Nintendo made a big mistake launching both the 3DS and the Wii U prematurely without having a strong enough lineup of system sellers within a reasonable launch window. Shouldn't they have known that developing HD games takes a lot more time, money and resources? Nevertheless it's good news to hear that they've made the necessary adjustments to streamline their development. While that may come at a cost, there is the promise of big Wii U titles on the horizon. I may be dusting off my Wii U and 3DS much sooner than I expected.

I believe Majora's Mask deserves to be a fully remastered Wii U title. The HD remake of Wind Waker is a great example of a step in the right direction.

It's not all gloom and doom. We've got a solid lineup of releases coming out this year and a very exciting E3. Things will turn around.

First I'd like to point out that this is an extremely well written article and an excellent read.

I believe used game sales truely are the last hope for brick and mortar businesses. Game Dude, my local independent video game store has the largest collection of used video games I've ever seen in my entire life; which seems to be doing quite well. It is extremely convenient to take a roughly twelve minute drive down the road to pick up a used copy of a game released over a decade ago and have it tested in store to show it works. I stopped buying used games online after receiving a bad copy of Starfox Assault and Mario Kart Double Dash.

@LordJumpMad That's because it is. The more I learn about this game the more obvious it becomes.

@belmont Pokemon Colosseum looks far more superior and that was released March of 2004. I guess GameFreak didn't want to be over ambitious for time and financial reasons. We would've had to wait longer for this game if they decided to develop the games aesthetics on the same level of colosseum or battle revolution. On a marketing level, the decision to make X&Y look low quality leaves Nintendo and GameFreak with an excuse to make a HD console based battling game for the Wii U. It's all gimmicks.

I'm torn. One side of me is happy that GameFreak finally listened to us fans and ditched the sprites. The other side of me is disappointed that the engine appears to be exactly the same. I was hoping for Pokemon to evolve at its core to give us a fresh and unpredictable experience. Perhaps it may be too early to judge but by the looks of it, it appears to be just another Pokemon game with a 3D makeover. It's up to GameFreak to prove me wrong.

@Voicesoffcamera
Exactly. Pokemon evolved after the original gold and silver versions when they introduced the GBA versions, Ruby and Sapphire. It's about time they do it again, a decade later. I'm hoping for the obvious: Fully orchestrated OST, 3D models, balancing of stats and a new game play mechanic (or engine) that gives the series some novelty. I have faith GameFreak will break away from the predictable cookie cutter story of a trainer who embarks on a journey, meddles in an evil corporations plan and becomes Pokemon Leauge Champion.

I'm ready for another trip down nostalgia lane.

Zelda. <3

"The plane system eliminates this problem entirely by restricting the action."
I don't like restrictions. Plus I didn't really see a need to fix something that wasn't really broken to begin with. It's not like all beat em' up games were frustrating to the point of being unplayable and throw away because of that miniascule issue. If anything, the 3D feature would have inadvertenly corrected the problem and made it easier similar to how 3D made Starfox easier to target enemies. Over all, I believe most games these days aren't giving the player enough credit by holding the players hand a bit too much and take the difficulty out of everything.

"Also, I don't know about you, but when I play with others, we skip the story."
So instead of giving the players the option to choose that mode to watch the story or skip it, they chose not to include it at all due to the possibility of having the story overlooked? Bummer. I would've liked a continuous flow of stages to progress through rather than being forced to select a single mission from the mission mode, play for 10 mins then have to revisit the mission select again. It's extremely intrusive and its a chore. It also doesn't help that at the end of each mission, the 3DS's take a lengthy amount of time to communicate with eachother before allowing you and your friends to gear up and proceed with the next mission.

Thank you for engaging in this discussion with me, Jon. This is what makes Nintendo Life the best.

@Jon Then in that case, they should've just used battle mechanics similar to that of ToS and Brawl's subspace emissary instead of trying to correct a miniscule flaw. I believe the purpose of Co-Op Story mode would enable all of the participants to enjoy the story together.

9? Err... I bought this game day 1 along with three friends and we were disappointed with it's lacklustre multiplayer features. The most notable beat em' up games allow all of the players to progress through the story mode together like TMNT: Turtles in time or Scott Pilgrim. Not this game. You'll find that out of the box you and your friends are limited to a single character and a single mission which means that in order to find more enjoyment in the multiplayer feature, you or the host must clear the story mode first which is different from traditional beat em' ups. There is also another issue I have with this game, the frame rate. As soon as a second player joins in, the frame rate drops dramaticly and it only gets worse if you get more friends to join. COP also introduces a new frustrating mechanic. If you've played Guilty Gear Isuka, you will likely be familiar with the mechanic which allows you to switch between different foreground and background planes for the players to fight on. The same mechanic can be found in this game which seems to be unnecessary and vitiate the pace of the game. If you can get passed the disappointing multiplayer, clunky plane mechanic and the occasional drop of frame rate in the single player mode, this game will be right up your alley.

Unfortunately for COP, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is not only more fast paced but executes these RPG-esque elements far more effectively and manages to stay true to the traditional beat em' up genre. I give it a 7/10.

When I close my eyes and listen to this, I imagine a fully 3D Pokemon adventure. This will make a nice addition to the Pokemon anime OST collection.

I've got nothing.

I wonder if they will ever consider rebooting the Pokemon series in 3D?

I'll pass on this one. Maybe Nintendo will reveal a 3DS title next E3. Here's to hoping for something that is a bit easier on the eyes. Cheers!

Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles.

As a competitive player, I can say that this has its pros and cons. I mean, as long as there are hackers and hacked pokemon in circulation (GTS) none of it will really matter.

I believe that battling weaker Pokemon in the end game wasn't really much of an issue in terms of obtaining EV's. B&W made a change so that you obtain the effort value immediately after the battle, not after leveling up. Also, I really enjoyed using the link features with friends to get EXP boosts from missions to stack it with the Lucky Egg to make leveling up easier. Simply put, adding that special place or cave where the player can battle Pokemon of equal level renders those features nearly useless depending on how you look at it. So why bother including them in the game? Throw the Lucky Egg and EXP boost way, you won't be needing them anymore.

@Geonjaha
You are absolutely correct. Most Pokes are outclassed by others that do the same exact job but do it better. Most of the time the obsolete Pokes aren't rewarded with a new special ability or additions to their movepool to give them a fighting chance. GameFreak just keeps haphazardly adding new Pokemon and inadvertently raises the bar higher for the competitive scene without making the necessary adjustments to keep the older Pokemon relevant.

Meh. Take your time Nintendo. I'm sure it will be worth the wait.

GameStop midnight release baby.

Excited. So very excited.

Sounds 'dreamy.'

Next thing you know they will start doing countdowns for franchise cancellations.

A week of Garfield (NES). Sometimes a game is so bad that it is good, but in a bad way. We will also test our Hauppauge HD PVR on Kirby's Return to Dream Land in preparation for our 'Co-Op gaming reviews' series.

Conkers BFD and Starfox Adventures are gems. I'll never sell those games.

@shinpichu I never said they all were. I'd like to recommend that everybody not fly off the hinges and make assumptions about my taste just because I don't share the same opinion. I'm merely pointing out that the number of Pokemon with underwhelming design is becoming significantly higher with each release of a new gen that introduces new mons, particularly Gen V. Its just an observation. Pardon me if my opinion rubs you the wrong way.

FYI, I took off my nostalgia glasses long ago.

It appears that GameFreak and Ken Sugimori lost inspiration and run out of ideas. That thing is absolutely atrocious. Perhaps its time for GameFreak to hire on some new talent or reassess the time frame in which they expect Ken to come up with new monsters and present them. Overall, generation V had some weak designs in comparison to previous generations.

I could pay off my student loans and build a fancy home theater system in preparation for my Wii U with that kind of money. Maybe I should consider selling my original boxed copy of Clayfighter: Sculptors Cut.

After doing some digging and dusting, I've confirmed that I have the issue that has an inside look at the original Pokemon Gold & Silver games. Good times.

I could've called this one. Disappointing nonetheless.

@Philip_J_Reed Right! Even Wario has Wario Ware and Wario Land Shake it! The least they could do is include him in the Wario Ware series.

Luigi Land or Waluigi World must exist before the end of the 3DS' life cycle or else I'll--I'll be okay, actually.

@SpaceKappa Agreed. @ThomasBW84 TWEWY is without a doubt a must have for your DS collection. Just when I was about to lose hope this shows up. Prepare to get swept up in hype over the next six days.

... and somebody just lost their job for letting that one slip through the cracks.

It may not be a DS game... but Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles would make a fantastic addition if it made use of the gamepad and 3DS.

If I were home I'd use my photoshop magic to better illustrate how it would look. This will have to suffice.

I may produce a couple of images illustrating how a 3D Pokemon game would look on the Wii U as well. This is going to be fun.

@MrWalkieTalkie I believe setting the stage for the Wii U may very well be Nintendo's primary objective this holiday season.

@TheSolarKnight Direct your sentiments at Reggie. He might make it happen.

@Medicham I didn't realize you've already played NSMB2 to warrant giving us an informed unbiased opinion.

Nintendo: "Save your money for the Wii U."

Not quite worth the $60.00 price tag, however, I will say that this soundtrack is remarkable. I found myself standing at the balcony of Dark Lord Gaol's castle, staring off into the distance filled with dark purple clouds during the calm portion of Magnus' theme. It was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen on the 3DS at the time. The Lightning Chariot Base is another example of how perfectly the soundtrack works together with the game to make the player truly feel like they are 'climbing' up the tower, overcoming a great challenge to reach new hights.

Worth the wait.

Nobody realizes just how upset brick and mortar retailers would be if Nintendo sold their digital titles for less.

Mario Galaxy. Brilliant soundtrack and so many genius ideas bolstered its gameplay. Galaxy 2 introduced some new ideas, however I didn't come away from it feeling as heavily impacted by it in a profound way.

Super Mario World is a close second but I've always had a difficult time getting engrossed in a 2D Mario game. However, most of that issue has been alleviated with simultaneous co-operative play. The element of teamwork adds to the experience in various ways. All of my memories of any 2D Mario game are those shared with others overcoming challenges and obstacles.

This is good news for me. I'm still enjoying KH:3D and NSMB2 is on the horizon. I also have Paper Mario to look forward to in the near future. My Mario cravings will be gourmandized and by 2013 I'll get some Luigi and Animal Crossing into the rotation.

@Ryno My bad. I didn't bother to check how much they were running for these days. I remember getting my used copy from Game Dude for roughly that price back in 2001. It looks like it has gone up to $90.00 used to buy in store.