Drawdler

I'm with @Prof_Clayton. I simply don't care for him. Personally, I would have been more excited to see Mewtwo, though at least they haven't just "abandoned" Lucario I guess.

I'm just talking character-wise though, I haven't played either, so yeah.

"The cart plays just fine and may some day be worth much more if someone decides to investigate a forensics lab's involvement to see if they can determine the official number by running tests on the cart."

... Really?

I'm trying not to assume anything since we don't know why Nintendo turned it down, but still... It always disappoints me when companies are strict about this kind of thing, especially on older games where it shouldn't be a big issue. I love hearing about game development and I wish companies could be a little more open about it and give us glimpses of their design decisions.

I'm still playing Skylanders. It's not even me actively playing any more, really, just grinding up all my characters to Level 20 and finishing all their Quests and stuff(which is intensely monotonous).

Besides that, I don't think I'm playing anything else? I'm still going through Spyro 3 so there's that but I don't feel like picking it up again, actually. I think I'd just like to work on speedrunning some game soon, because lately I've felt more like dedicating some time to another game, to help distract me from the insane amount of time I've played Skylanders(and add a little balance).

Huh, I expected this to be terrible for some reason. A lot of games seem to be surprisingly "meh" lately, in my opinion.

I'm seeing the movie on Wednesday, I'm neutral on Olaf. Kind of annoying from what I've seen so far, but I thought the same about Vanellope before seeing WIR, so yeah.

Haha, I got one ages ago. EB Games had them as gifts for pre-ordering Mario Kart 7. It's awesome.

I might actually start using Club Nintendo since the Australian one is finally getting more items.

So, I skimmed through that 'temp topic. I'm not totally clear on this, but- the Gateway makers put some code-check thing in in to stop other flashcart makers from copying/modifying/etc. (and subsequently profiting from) their pirating software, if I've got this right...?

Nah... I wouldn't care too much unless it was my own trophy with my own name. It's a cool artefact but just because it's from the NWC, nothing else. There's plenty of stuff I would enjoy more which I could get from that $2000.

Maybe I would be more excited if it looked cooler lol.

I really like seeing these speedrun posts

Well I don't understand the need for a boyfriend or girlfriend so many people my age seem to be obsessed with but it leads to plenty of hilarious stuff... Like this...

I'm creeped out by how people could just be this stupid but I'm also laughing hard at the same time... I just hope it was brilliant trolling or I have lost a bit more faith for us...

Also it reminds me of when I used to play Club Penguin and I would see people acting like they were gfs/bfs :U

Well that sounds like it's right up my alley! I'll definetly need to pick this up eventually.

It doesn't really have anything to do with the current conversation but I heard the name "Tantalus Media" and thought it sounded familiar. Then I remembered that they made the DS version of Spyro: Dawn of The Dragon.

Meh.

No Animal Crossing?!?! Uh oh...

Happy new year guys. My favourite memory this (err... last) year was going on the chat stream at E3. It's great to see the site grow, I noticed it's been more active this year. Thanks to all the staff for all your hard work on NL- I think it's really admirable.

I already got one for Christmas(and I'm from Australia anyway), so I won't enter. Good luck everyone! It's a great box set.

@SamiCetinSMK Respect, man! I love time trial modes in games, when I can just perfect my technique with them, it's tons of fun. It's great to see that such an old game still has an active community for this. Congrats on your new record- especially on Christmas!

@Hyperstar96 NL should make a tag just for that picture at this rate. It pops up almost as often as articles.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf FTW

Contrary to everyone else, I didn't have trouble choosing any of them this year. It's not that there were a lot of bad games and only one or two standouts but my favourites and the games I thought were generally best for each category were all pretty clear.
For me there were lots of good/great games this year but only a few actually got me deeply immersed, and I think the games that did immerse me deserve it more. I played Animal Crossing for a couple hundred hours already, and that's already in my most played 3DS games list. And I had a blast the whole time.

Also, it just amuses me how Skylanders: Swap Force is a 3DS candidate. It makes sense because the console version is also a choice- and it's a fairly big title- but it's just not very good and probably won't get many votes, especially compared to the truly great games the console got this year.

Well, for me it would just be a downgrade from the PC version(I never play the game without a HD shaders mod any more ), but I imagine that something like using the GamePad for the inventory screen would be fantastic(especially in Creative Mode). It'd essentially let you use all your items as if they were all in your item slots.

I'd like to see it, even though I prefer the PC version, but I'm not holding my breath since I don't trust the source.

Egg-venture? Really? >.>

This is awesome! It's a shame that we never got Deluxe, but it's great to see that the Ghost Levels are coming to the 3DS. Still want to replay this game, so I think when the update comes around I'll start a new game again. Still love it, one of my favourite eShop games. It's good to see that it's still being supported.

I'm getting one for Christmas! Woohoo!

@Slapshot Nah, that's not what I meant but more of an it would be great for devs. Then again, a lot of important devs seem to not care about Nintendo anyway, so ehhh. Plus, we've had gimmicks on Ninty consoles for the last two gens, and I think it would just be nice to have a little break from that, and give devs "breathing room" to really utilize those gimmicks on another console. Maybe it's just wishful thinking.

Excellent article. Thank you for writing this.

I agree with @Slapshot, @DarkwingLz and @Blastoise-san's posts.

I personally wish that Nintendo would put some more focus on reaching the standards of "next-gen": basically, more power and better online. I can live with it but it still baffles me how they are running their online services like the Miiverse- they took a step in the right direction when originally implementing it, but the way it's going to be integrated into the 3DS isn't moving forward very much on that front. I really think that the 3DS needs a better online service, especially since Swapnote is gone now. I also think that they should expand the eShop to include proper Club Nintendo integration.
Also, I don't want their next console to have a "gimmick" like the Wiimote and GamePad. I think that they should, instead, let those carry into the next gen (?) but focus on making a more powerful machine instead. It obviously wouldn't match the PS5 and XBox Whatever, I just think that they don't need another gimmick, and that extra power would be of far better benefit. I love the GamePad, but I feel like it just held back the Wii U. Then again, the 3D for th 3DS had a similar vibe. Still. (Edit: maybe they could go with an Oculous Rift esque gimmick as someone suggested earlier, I think that would be entertaining and attract more people)

Also, I think @Zael is kind of right about Nintendo's reliance on Mario lately. It doesn't seem to be attracting that many from the casual crowd at the moment, and I think even us Nintendo fans can agree it'd be nice to see him get a little break. Maybe it's just my imagination. Things with that seem as though they'll settle a bit after this year, though, thankfully.

"role-play puzzle" game? Doctor Lautrec anyone?

@Captain_Gonru Absolutely nothing, actually. Load them in- and, done. All you'd need to do is go to the store with your 3DS, the game, and the Portal of Power. You can level your toys up, and then update your Spyro with his levelled-up stats, but the game isn't very fun to do that anyway, IMO. (For the record, I really don't advocate doing this.)

I agree a lot with this review. I'm really disappointed in this game, still, though. The biggest problem with this game(besides the many glitches I've run into): it's simply no fun to replay, due to a combination of the factors the review mentions, and in Skylanders- where the content mostly comes from replaying the game with new characters- that's a big issue. I would say avoid it until it at least goes on sale.

Also, I thought I would bring up that I loathed the slow pace of the game. It has a very "laggy" tempo to the level design, I think(one of the biggest points that makes it boring to replay). For instance, the pointless dialogue from NPCs during the level, the lock puzzles... They don't really feel like they add to the gameplay, just pad it out. Makes it boring.

I think n-Space tried WAAAAAYYYYY too hard to emulate aspects of the console version, and build a game similar to that. But they fail to realise the 3DS can't handle that. And IMO, the way it came out, it just feels half-baked and not very good.

I'm a Skylanders nut, but I won't return to it any time soon. The main game (with the starter pack) will probably last a few hours, I think you can get about 20 hours out of it if you have all the Skylanders needed for it and go for 100%. Don't recommend picking this one up unless it becomes super cheap soon, or if you're already a fan and want another way to level up your Skylanders than plain grinding(in which case, I would still advise you wait for it to drop in price).

It's so beautiful...

@AlexSora89 I love AZ!

I'm just tired of seeing all the arguing about it, honestly. Wether the Wii U is "next gen" and how the hardware is and what's up with the sales. I understand why(and I agree with certain points and ideas regarding it), but sometimes I wonder what happened with just wanting to play games. I'm just seeing it everywhere lately.

Sigh. Anyway, my plan this gen is to use my 3DS and PC as my main consoles. I haven't used my Wii U much lately, tbh. I think it will pick up soon like my 3DS did, but meh... I'm just not very enthusiastic for this gen. Like, at all, outside of the 3DS, and somewhat the PC, I honestly don't care very much for anything lately. So many little reasons as to why. It's strange because so many games are delivering, but I think I'm just getting tired of this "NEXT GEN HYPE" right now.
I'm going to pick up a Vita, though- but that's because I need to upgrade from my awful PSP1000 (and want to play LBPVita!) more than a getting-into-that-section-of-the-next-gen kind of thing.

I watched a bit of each of them, but only the movie and SatAM held my interest. Though, those two WERE awesome. I don't even like Sonic a ton(just casually following), but I love 'em both.
I think AoSTH gets too much flak sometimes, but I can also see why some people dislike it.

As for Underground and X... Ugh! I just couldn't go past an episode of either. I don't know... I just found Sonic so... annoying in those shows!

It's so beautiful. Well, now I know what to pre-order so I can have a Christmas gift for my sister, at least Wouldn't mind another of these...

Then they have the rename the white one to Whipped Cream and the black one to Licorice.

I like the Wii Sports/Fit/Resort games. They're not a substitute for real exercise, but I enjoy the different pace they have from other games.

I liked the game, but I'm really disappointed by the story. Giants didn't really treat you like a Portal Master that much and I was hoping it was just a low and it'd kinda come back in the sequel, but it's not here. If anything, it's here even less than Giants.

I liked the story in SA because it was like YOU were the hero. It gave a feeling of more interactivity, which is what games are ultimately best at, letting you interact with a world. I really miss that, it pushed it from a really good game into a special and unique experience, and that's why I still like the first Skylanders the best. It's also really annoying because the story is a lot of the game. And remember how Kaos used to treat you like a rival? See, it's just little things like this that made us love the series in the first place, now everything feels really dumbed down story-wise, honestly.

The game's design is certainly getting better, but between Heroics now gone and leaving little customisation on the figures and very little mention of Portal Masters in the story, this is probably my last game unless TFB adjust these in Skylanders 4. It's just not magical now, I need to keep reminding myself I'm a Portal Master when I play, and I'm not really taking my Skylanders through the trials of those challenges to boost their stats so I care a lot less for all of them. That's another thing I miss, Heroics directly boosted your Skylanders by playing through dungeons with them. It made them feel more alive getting stronger via trials, and it made me give a chance to a lot of Skylanders I would probably have power-levelled and quickly upgraded and never touched again.

Drinking game: take a shot each time an NPC thanks your Skylander when they could/should have thanked you instead, or when Kaos complains about "Skylosers" instead of his adversary Portal Master. You'll be dead less than a quarter in.

The Wii edition plays the same but apparently has a couple of action sequences cut out.

@GamerZackX If you watch the gameplay videos, you'll see SWAP Force is still playing a lot more like a dungeon crawler anyway.

Though, I feel like Giants 3DS tried emulating the console version too much. I hope that they make it have a much different feel this time, that's what made 3DSSA so great- it was like an old Crash Bandicoot game- Giants 3DS just felt terribly generic, honestly... But judging from the 3DS gameplay so far it's not looking too hopeful...

Gah, I've been unsure of wether to keep this.

I really like how simple it is and how I can jump right into it, but I don't like the fact that all the figures are playing pretty much the same, and some parts of the toy box feel very stupidly restricted.
I do really love the figures, but I don't really know if this game is worth keeping the space and spending money for them, plus it takes up quite a lot of time.

Minecraft is a better sandbox for me and the play sets are just good(and I finished them all quite some time ago- Toy Story seems to be the only other one coming out this game). I've been tossing this up for some time now.
It's a great game, but it feels like a bit... Well, something is missing. I haven't really picked it up for a lengthy session in a couple of weeks.

Oh wow lawl I read the title and just thought this was some random shovelware, not a movie tie-in. You know, when I first heard the title of this film, I thought that it was going to be a WIR spin-off.

@sinalefa I guess you could say it's Turbo-Terrible? Turbo-Trashtic?

Sorry, Nintendo Life, but it was confirmed months ago on the Disney Infinity site

@aj_fowl We don't know about Disney Infinity, but Skylanders actually stores two Skylanders on the game at a time and the next game will apparently let you have them all at once and switch between them, soooo...

Is it coming to AUS?

I just want the choice to buy physical games. The concept of non-optional digitalised games really annoys me. Though, considering all the "download from the eShop" promos and how much more convinent it would be to publish, I can understand why it would happen... I just hope that whenever it happens- which it will- the systems are ready and come with a buttload of internal memory.

I still need around $90 before I can get everything I want from the eShops, but this game is on the top of my list.

@LOMDR Well, technically, there is a freemium Skylanders game... You're right that it isn't TECHNICALLY a scam. But I think it has truly lost its edge.

Well, there goes the future of Crash and Spyro. Down the drain. Fluuuusshhhh. I was hoping that a company which actually cares about making great games would buy them and fix their IPs, but I guess not.

@OneOfSwords I actually don't like Giants TBH, it didn't feel magic like the first game. I would recommend @urandomsam buy SA and get one character of every element, it's a charming game, but try not to get sucked into Giants- it simply doesn't have enough replayability, even with its great new features. And you don't really feel like you're treated like a Portal Master any more. I loved it when it first came out but it really got old by the end of the year. Of course, if you're only gonna play them casually, picking up a Portal owners pack for Giants with SA is a good idea, just keep yourself in check. Giants is more like an expansion than a true sequel. I would recommend that you just buy one or two Skylanders a month or something so that you won't notice your shrinking wallet as much.

However, saying they're a "scam" is kinda true, the toy thing is totally unnessicary, and just isn't magical any more. It was cool the first time when it impacted the story more, but it lost its edge. In Giants I can't remember a time that wasn't in the beginning or end cutscene where you were called a Portal Master, whereas in SA it felt meaningful, so Giants' toy feature felt more gimmicky than epic.

@Katzii I kid you not, my local Target is selling SSA Starter Packs for $14. Which is the price of a new Giants figure here. It's an amazing deal. They also sell SSA figures for $2.50 now. I wish that I had waited. I do really want Swap Force but I have OCD about making my collections consistent so I would have to buy everything all over again... -_-

By the way, I just notice some info in this article is wrong. Mulcan Forge is not a Skylander, it's the name of the new battle pack (which comes with a cauldron)

This game brings shame to the awesome word that is spelunking.

I'm still not buying the game, but I think I'm in love with Boom Jet. I have to pick him up, along with Magna Charge, Spy Rise, Countdown, Trigger Happy and SPROCKET! And the Tech LightCore/Newlander.

Someone had a theory that these were the launch releases, and if that is the case, we get Spyro, Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy at launch...

@GamerZack7 @Katzii Don't know if you two know, but recolours of older characters like Legendary Stealth Elf and Polar Whirlwind also work in SA as their standard editions.

"Animal Crossing cost me $105 for three copies."
Ahh, yes, I still remember paying $100 just for a single copy of SMG2...

Iwata just gets it.