Haywired

I tend to agree with the general point. Sadly it's often a curse of long-running franchises that they need to always have new things to sell a sequel, so over time, what was once a simple, accessible game becomes more and more bloated with features, mechanics, characters, etc. to the point where it can become overwhelming to newcomers.

Wow, I remember getting this on Wii U after NL's 9/10 recommendation. This is quite a drop.

WWF No Mercy is like the final boss of licensing issues...

Sports (sports entertainment) games have enough licensing issues anyway

THQ no longer THQ

WWF no longer WWF

Many wrestlers in the game have since died in tragic circumstances, including one who murdered his own wife and son.

All in all, probably best left alone...

@Steevil
That's interesting to hear. I got a Guilty Gear (and BlazBlue) game once as I loved the look of it, and being a fan of old 2D fighting games from the 16-bit era, I thought this would be similar. But while I was in the tutorial mode, learning about like 12 different types of blocking systems and having to remember ridiculously long strings of combos, I thought to myself, "This is everything that's wrong with modern fighting games. This is why it's a niche genre now". It's interesting to hear that it was once accessible to everyone and not just e-sports players.

They've patched out the Flyfish.

Well, I take it back about being happy that this finally came to Europe (as I wouldn't have spent 45 bloody quid on it... ) The first couple of hours were fine, but then I was getting wiped out in battles in Chapter 1...! I don't think I was underleveled and I was doing all the pushing/comboing stuff... So, I think I'll just have to accept that I will never understand the appeal of turn-based RPGs (especially if this is a 9/10...)

It doesn't really surprise me that the Robot Suit flopped. It's like "Did you enjoy playing Wii games, but didn't think you looked ridiculous enough? Then you'll love Labo Robot Suit". In fact, when was the last time they had a motion control-centric game that was actually a big hit? Like 2009?

Damn UK gamers! Oh wait...

So Nintendo will be able to put "From the team that brought you Zelda: Ocarina of Time" on the box, like they did with Ever Oasis...

Whenever I see a picture of the Labo robot suit it looks like something you'd see in a parody video of ridiculous/lame video game ideas (except that it's actually real...)

@Bolt_Strike
I have a feeling there will be a new 3D Donkey Kong game soon. It's such uncharted territory (as there's only ever been one and it's not the most beloved) and they can kind of be like "If you liked Mario Odyssey, you'll love Donkey Kong [insert subtitle here]..."

I agree with the score. A great game. Probably one of the best 2D platformers ever. Deserves a wider audience on the Switch than it had on the Wii U. Though I'm surprised if it has a reputation for being hard. I didn't think it was particularly hard. I thought the Wii one was harder (and I'm not one of those gamers who goes online to boast about how tough I am and how every game is too easy for me...) But then, maybe you're referring to bonus levels.

It's funny, I do wonder, if Nintendo had held off their decision to go mobile (which was a pretty huge deal) until the Switch was released, whether now they'd still make the same decision (what with the Switch being a big success). A decision that, at the time, was obviously born out of the dire straights of the Wii U era. Obviously they've made some decent revenue from it, but I read somewhere that their mobile titles only accounted for like 3% of their overall revenue last year. In any case, do you think Nintendo would have still done it if the decision was made now?

@RegularGameFan
Oh, ha, we're just being silly/sarcastic. Making fun of the people here who somehow seem to think this list shows how UK gamers have bad taste, even though it's filled with top-tier critically-acclaimed games.

@1UP_MARIO
Ha. I know, I've even bought some of the hugely critically-acclaimed, multi-award-winning games in this awful list of dreck... I've brought shame upon myself and Great Britain! Damn my terrible taste!

@manu0
Yeah, Mario Kart 8, Breath of the Wild, Mario Odyssey, Labo, all in the top 20. Plus a game with a 94% Metascore at number one. Terrible taste...

I wish we could see the charts for other countries here. Apparently they're all perfect every week!

"that follows in the footsteps of Wii Music and 1-2-Switch"

Strangest compliment I've ever seen...

@CorvoRevo
There's actually a lot of variety in that top 20 list, including a number of Nintendo games (mostly sequels because Nintendo fans "always play the same games" as much as anyone), so I'm not sure what you mean.

@SmaggTheSmug
Valhalla Edition has an extra boss-rush mode when you complete the game. I think that's basically it.

It's the quintessential indie game. In that the art style is the best thing about it.

Ha, no, this was actually one of my most anticipated Wii U games back in the day. I absolutely loved the look of it (one of the best looking games I've ever played). However there were a couple of annoying issues for me. The map doesn't show you where you are, which I know was what they were going for, but it can be a little annoying on occasions, like in the earlier levels, when you're still getting your bearings and figuring things out, the obscure map makes it very easy to miss some important upgrades. The boss battles are very challenging. I guess that's the point, but they can be quite infuriating sometimes, especially when it zooms out so much that you can barely see anything, or when Thora is doing her extremely slow strong attack, by which time the boss has moved to the other side of the screen. I gave it 8/10.

Considering the calibre of recent and upcoming 3DS releases, I dread to think how phoned-in they're going to be in 2019 and beyond... Maybe remakes of 3DS remakes? Mario Party: The Next 100?

Nice that they're still doing fairly well. I will not rest until we get Toadette and Dixie Kong!

Haven't seen the Turtles in a while. Has Leo got a wasting disease or something...?

@bluedogrulez
The revenues from Miitomo allowed Nintendo to pay for a brand new toaster in the office kitchen.

I'm only joking, I liked Miitomo possibly the most!

Labo more popular in Japan than game that isn't very popular in Japan.

I got a BlazBlue game once as I loved the look of it, but while I was in the tutorial mode, learning about like 12 different types of blocking systems and having to remember ridiculously long strings of combos, I thought to myself, "This is everything that's wrong with modern fighting games. This is why it's a niche genre now". And I never played it again. To cleanse myself I played some classic Street Fighter II on the SNES. Back when fighting games appealed to everyone and not just e-sports people.

Didn't really see much of Japan going absolutely potty for Labo in the gallery. More that "Labo is available in stores".

If there's one thing kids find really cool, it's school!

"Nintendo Switch. It's the console your teachers like!"

It would seem mad, given the game's style and heritage, if the Nintendo console was the only one that didn't get a physical release. I would have thought that'd be the flagship version.

@dumedum
Regurgitating its IP has pretty much been Nintendo's business model for the past 30-40 years... I don't know why you'd criticize this for it.

Is God of War big in Japan anyway? If not then it's hardly a triumphant comparison.

Pick-pocket camp more like!

Nah, to be fair, I suppose they've got to make revenue out of this game somehow, but you know "Nintendo goes its own way/doesn't follow trends" etc... Yeah right...

Loved the art style and premise, but I really didn't like the map (that doesn't show your current location...) which made navigating the levels a chore at times.

This was one of my most anticipated Wii U games back in the day. Loved the art style and premise, but I really didn't like the map (that doesn't show your current location...) which made navigating the levels a chore at times.

Now you're like... totally like... playing with power, man...

It's hard not to look at that photo and think that this is all some joke that got out of hand, but whatever...

I know this is one of the "Hey casual gamers, remember the Wii?" range (though many of us had all that therapy precisely so that we wouldn't ever have to...) but still, I hope they don't market Mario Tennis Aces as a motion control only game like they did with ARMS...

Looking back through these old Dsiware reviews, my God some of these scores are generous...

@dubber
"Strategy?.......strategy........"

Yeah, like planning when your parents are going out and when they'll be back.

Yay, Guru Larry! Legend.

I just did a little Inazuma 360 spin of excitement.

I want to do the commentary for the person at Nintendo who gets to throw darts at random old games on a wall to see which ones get remade to stretch out the 3DS's life...

He steps up... Ooh, it's a Metroid 2.
Next throw; he's got a Mario & Luigi.
Ooh, another Mario & Luigi.
Mario Party there. Three in a throw of them and it's a compilation... He's done it.
Next throw: Luigi's Mansion out of nowhere.
Captain Toad! Recent, but it's all eligible.
Ooh it's a Wario Ware. Same rules apply as Mario Party here folks... And he's nailed it!

Haven't they milked the Mario RPGs to death on the 3DS already?

It looks cool and all and I realize I'm in the minority here, but this is why DLC annoys me. I'd finished Splatoon and was happy to move on. It's so hard to keep up with the relentless video game schedule nowadays (and keep on top of life as well!) and clear one's backlog (which includes RPGs that go on for 70 hours for some reason...) that it's annoying to me when a game you thought you'd finished suddenly becomes unfinished, and you have to go back to it and pay an extortionate price to get the complete version because it suddenly became more bloated.

Obviously you can say "it's optional", but if you're a fan/completionist, then you feel compelled (which DLC soley exists to exploit), plus, everything's optional, buying the game in the first place was optional.

It's a fairly undignified end for the 3DS. Having to be kept on life-support for two years with as many quickly cobbled-together ports, remakes and compilations as they can possibly come out with.

I dread to think how lazy Nintendo's 3DS output will be in 2025, when they'll no doubt still be trying to keep the poor thing alive. I just heard they're porting another Mario & Luigi game to the 3DS as well (as if they haven't milked the Mario RPGs to death on the console already...)

I keep expecting to wake up one day and see that my Switch has actually morphed into a Wii U...

Seriously though, while it is tempting to think "Oh God, more Wii U ports..." the Wii U was such a disaster, I can't really begrudge them giving some of these games a second chance at glory.

It would be exciting if Zelda characters/costumes didn't already appear in every other game.

Not really too excited as it could just be a port of Smash 4, and to be honest I found Smash 4 to be stale as hell.

I think Nintendo plans to keep the 3DS alive with phoned-in titles for the rest of time.